Without fanfare and with only the stroke of a pen, Attorney General Eric Holder made an enormous contribution to the rule of law last Friday when he vacated Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008), a much criticized decision by Attorney General Michael Mukasey about the proper means of analyzing the crimes involving moral turpitude basis of inadmissibility. Matter of Silva-Trevino, A013-014-303 (A.G. April 10, 2015) (read the informal order as originally distributed here; read the formal decision here). Building off multiple Supreme Court decisions and even longer federal [...]
5 Cir: Rejects Silva-Trevino
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008), expanding the analytical framework by which immigration courts determine whether an immigrant has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. Silva-Trevino v. Holder, No. 11-60464, slip op. (5th Cir. Jan. 30, 2014) (Benavides, Owen, and Southwick, JJ.). As a result, immigration courts in the Fifth Circuit must use the categorical approach and modified categorical only when determining whether an immigrant has been convicted of a CIMT. [...]
9 Cir: Rejects Silva-Treviño; deepens circuit split
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit expressly rejected Matter of Silva-Treviño, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008), in which Attorney General Mukasey revamped the method by which immigration courts determine whether a particular conviction involves moral turpitude. Olivas-Motta v. Holder, No. 10-72459, slip op. (9th Cir. May 17, 2013) (Fletcher, Hug, and Kleinfeld, JJ.). Judge Fletcher wrote the panel’s opinion; Judge Kleinfeld concurred. This case involved an LPR who arrived in the United States at the age of 10 days. Eventually he was convicted of marijuana possession in 2003 and [...]
ACHIEVE Act would bar most youth with criminal history
It’s unlikely that the ACHIEVE Act, the immigration reform proposal introduced by a handful of Republican senators this week, will become more than a blip in the long history of immigration law reform debates, but it’s clear that it reflects a well-trodden tradition of excluding people who have encountered the criminal justice system from receiving immigration benefits. The proposal’s drafters seem to have gone out of their way to exclude almost anyone convicted of a crime from receiving one of the W-1 non-immigrant visas the act would create. Despite this obvious intention, a close reading of [...]
Scholars Sidebar: Immigration judges write “Immigration Law 101”
Two immigration judges recently found time in their overcrowded schedules to give crImmigration law aficionados their take on the basics of this convoluted area of law. Hon. Dana Leigh Marks and Hon. Denise Noonan Slavin, A View Through the Looking Glass: How Crimes Appear from the Immigration Court Perspective, 39 Fordham Urb. L.J. 91 (2012). Written by Judge Dana Leigh Marks, the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, and Judge Denise Noonan Slavin, the NAIJ’s vice president, this article is a great starting point for criminal defense attorneys with limited immigration [...]
4 Cir: Rejects Silva-Treviño moral turpitude framework
Following a growing list of courts of appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rejected Matter of Silva-Treviño’s framework for determining whether a crime involves moral turpitude. Prudencio v. Holder, No. 10-2382, slip op. (4th Cir. Jan. 30, 2012) (Traxler, Shedd, and Keenan, JJ.). Judge Keenan wrote the panel’s majority opinion; Judge Shedd dissented. This case involved an LPR who pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Va. Code § 18.2-371. Applying Silva-Treviño’s three-part framework, the IJ held that this offense constituted a CIMT; the BIA [...]
11 Cir rejects Silva-Treviño moral turpitude framework
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently rejected the framework for determining whether a crime involves moral turpitude announced in Matter of Silva-Treviño, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008). Sanchez Fajardo v. Att’y Gen., Nos. 09-12962 and 09-14845, slip op. (11th Cir. Oct. 12, 2011) (Barkett, Marcus, and Restani, JJ.). Judge Barkett wrote the court’s opinion. This case involved an LPR who was convicted of false imprisonment under Florida Stat. § 787.02. After leaving the United States and returning through the Miami airport, DHS initiated removal proceedings charging him [...]
IJ: Tex failure to stop & render aid isn’t CIMT
An Immigration Judge (IJ) in Texas recently determined that a Texas conviction for failure to stop and render aid, Tex. Transp. Code §§ 550.021, 550.023, is not a crime involving moral turpitude where the conviction results from an individual’s failure to provide his name and address to an injured party or occupant of a vehicle involved in a collision. Matter of ---- (Port Isabel, Texas Immigration Court July 25, 2011). This case was argued by crImmigration.com patrocinador Carlos M. García of García & García Attorneys at Law P.L.L.C. This case involved an individual who became an LPR on [...]