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North Houston Immigration Lawyer

Smith & Garg, llc. – Serving Residents In Spring Conroe Magnolia Cypress & Champion Forest

Living in Texas, everyone understands the prevalence of immigration and how it permeates our everyday lives. There are few issues more polarizing than immigration, but regardless of the split of opinion in this context, everyone is entitled to the assistance of our North Houston Immigration Attorneys when they are faced with deportation, which is extremely emotional and stressful to the alien and his/her family.

The following article will target some of the more prominent areas in which a person may face when it comes to deportation and removals.  Please do not use this information to replace personal consultations from one of our experienced Conroe Immigration Lawyers at Smith & Garg, LLC.  We are experienced immigration attorneys that will assist you to navigate through this difficult area of law, identify available options, and apply for applications/waivers that are available depending on your situations.

Deportation & Removal

Deportation and removals are terms that are used synonymously to describe the process in which the USCIS and ICE allege that an alien is unauthorized to remain in the U.S and the government’s attempt to repatriate these aliens to their home countries.  Essentially, these two terms have the same meanings.  In recent years, the USCIS has approached this issue with a more politically correct way, and thus, all recent regulations do not use the term “deportation,” but rather, the term “removal” is more frequently use. 

Who Is A Removable Alien?

The Illegal Immigrant Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) redefined the definition of who is a removable alien into two major categories.  Essentially, an alien that has committed an “Aggravated Felony” or a “Crime Involving Moral Turpitude” is a removable alien. 

INA Section 101(a)(43) defined “Aggravated Felony,” which includes:

• Murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor;
• Illicit trafficking of a controlled substance;
• Illicit trafficking of firearms or other explosive devises;
• Money laundering if the amount of the funds exceeded $10,000;
• A crime of violence for which the term of imprisonment is one year or more;
• A theft or burglary offense for which the term of imprisonment is one year or more;
• Racketeering;
• Child pornography;
• Involvement in organized criminal activities in which the term of imprisonment is one year or more;
• Owning, controlling, managing, or supervising of a prostitution business;
• Espionage;
• Fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim or victims exceeds $10,000;
• Assisting, abetting, or aiding only the alien's spouse, child, or parent to violate the Immigration and Naturalization Act;
• A previously deported alien on the basis of a conviction defined under this statue;
• Falsely making, forging, counterfeiting, mutilating, or altering a passport;
• A fugitive if the underlying offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 years or more;
• Commercial bribery, counterfeiting, forgery, or trafficking in vehicles and altering the VIN for which the term of imprisonment is one year or more;
• Obstruction of justice, perjury or subornation of perjury, or bribery of a witness, for which the term of imprisonment is one year or more;
• Failure to appear before a court pursuant to a court order to answer to or dispose of a charge of a felony for which a sentence of 2 years' imprisonment or more may be imposed, and
• An attempt of any one of the crimes listed above.

The INA and IIRIRA do not enumerate which crime would be considered “Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude.”  However, over the past decade, federal courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), have ruled on various cases and determined the following crimes are those that are “crimes involving moral turpitude”:

Crimes Against The Person

• Murder and/or intentional homicide;
• Voluntary manslaughter, such as “crime of passion”;
• Homicide by reckless conduct and involuntary manslaughter w/ reckless disregard, such as drunk-driving that invloves the death of a victim;
• Attempted murder;
• Kidnapping;
• Mayhem;
• Assault or attempted murder of government officials;
• Carrying a concealed weapon with intent to use against another;
• Assault with a deadly weapon or a weapon likely to produce bodily harm;
• Interfering with a law peace officer with deadly force;
• Attempting to obstruct Justice; and
• Aggravated assault against a peace officer.

Crimes Against Property

• Attempted Arson;
• Blackmail and extortion;
• Forgery, such as theft by check (writing a check with intent to defraud) or forged prescription;
• Making false statements of financial condition, such as a finance application for a credit card or a financial institution;
• Robbery;
• Embezzlement; and
• Grand theft auto;
• Petty theft, receiving or transporting stolen property, attempted fraud in which the maximun sentence is more than 1 year or the sentencing is more than 6 months;
• Concealing Assets in Bankruptcy;
• Encumbering mortgaged property with intent to defraud;
• Illegal use of ATM or credit card;
• Mail fraud;
• Making false statements in applying for a firearm;
• Securities fraud;
• Welfare fraud;
• False pretenses;
• Bribery; and
• Malicious trespass.

Sexual and Family Violence Crimes

• Assault with intent that the victim have an abortion or to commit carnal abuse;
• Statutory rape;
• Public indecency;
• Adultery, prostitution, bigamy, sodomy;
• Aiding or assiting a minor to commit delinquency and/or sexual acts; and
• Incest or indecency with a minor.

Crimes Against Government Entities

• Falsely issuing a narcotic prescription;
• Bribery;
• Counterfeits and security frauds;
• Inchoate crimes to violate IRS or immigration laws; 
• Smuggling;
• Impersonating a peace officer; 
• Harboring a fugitive;
• Mail fraud and wire fraud;
• Making false statements to obtain a passport;
• Intentionally making false statements for immigration benefits;
• Perjury;
• Receiving governemnt funds through fraud and deception;
• Trafficking narcotics;
• Failing to report income;
• Kickbacks on government contracts;
• Falsely representing Social Security Number; and
• False Statements to obtain unemployment benefits.

Please contact our office to see how we can assist you in obtaining either an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa. Also, please review our website to learn more about our Areas of Practice.