Caribbean Immigrants Fighting Deportation Now Face More Limited Options

By NAN STAFF WRITER

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Oct. 31, 2019: It’s not a ‘trick or a treat’ but the reality of the continued Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Caribbean and other immigrants fighting deportation from the U.S. now have even more limited options after U.S. Attorney General William Barr recent two decisions.

The little-noticed decisions, made through the attorney general’s unique “certification” power, disqualifies people with multiple drinking and driving convictions from many paths to legal immigration status. It also removes a long-standing path to stop deportation for people with old criminal convictions. That’s why after getting arrested for DUI, you need to be represented by a reputable and experienced DUI lawyer to help plead your case.

Barr can make such sweeping decisions over immigration law because unlike most of the federal court system, immigration court is part of the executive branch, not the judiciary, and is housed within the Department of Justice.

Barr ruled that two or more Driving Under the Influence convictions disqualify an immigrant from having “good moral character.”

In the context of immigration, “good moral character” is a requirement for certain benefits. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines “good moral character” as follows:

‘A person of good moral character has not been convicted of certain crimes, is not a habitual drunkard, and has not engaged in certain other types of misconduct. In addition, the INA requires that an applicant for naturalization demonstrate good moral character during the statutory period.’

Whether an individual is considered to have “good moral character” can significantly impact their ability to obtain certain immigration benefits, such as naturalization or a hardship waiver. It’s crucial for immigrants to be aware of the requirements for good moral character and to avoid engaging in conduct that could potentially jeopardize their ability to meet this requirement. A lack of good moral character can have an immigrant removed or deported. Aside from DUI, this can also include crimes of moral turpitude, such as perjury, theft, and fraud.

DUIs are the most common criminal conviction for people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to federal data obtained by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. They are among the most common crimes in many states, and are not deportable offenses on their own.

Aside from multiple DUI arrests, DUI due to drugs or alcohol, or DUI with a child in the car (which qualifies as child endangerment), will also subject an immigrant to deportation and inadmissibility.

The “good moral character” standard is used throughout the immigration system. Immigrants must prove they have had good moral character for a set period of years when requesting cancellation of a deportation order and in applying for citizenship, among other immigration processes.

The second instance decreases the ability of state courts to influence the federal deportation process through adjusting old low-level criminal sentences. For years, sentence modifications were accepted by immigration judges. But Barr’s decision changes that, limiting which modifications can count in immigration court. To count, a modification must be specifically because of an error in the procedure of the case, not to avoid deportation.