NY Legal immigration status can survive minor arrest

Q. My boyfriend was convicted of a misdemeanor. That was his only arrest. Is he in danger of being deported?

Angie, by Twitter

A. To know for sure, your boyfriend should have his conviction record reviewed by an immigration law expert. Given that this is a low-level crime, my guess is that unless he was convicted for a drug offense, he’ll be fine. The only way to know for sure is to have an expert review his record. Not every crime makes a permanent resident deportable. Here’s an overview of the rules that apply to deporting a lawful permanent resident.

Director, CUNY Citizenship Now, Allan Wernick at the CUNY

Generally, for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport a permanent resident, the person must either have:

 1) committed a “crime involving moral turpitude” within five years of getting permanent status; 

2) committed a crime for which a court can impose a sentence of one year or longer; 

3) been convicted of two “moral turpitude” crimes not arising out of a single scheme of criminal misconduct; 

4) committed what the law calls an aggravated felony, or 

5) committed a drug-related offense or is a drug addict.

Good people may break the law, but good people don’t commit crimes involving moral turpitude. Crimes involving moral turpitude include arson; assault with intent to serious bodily harm; bigamy; blackmail; bribery; bad check convictions; burglary; counterfeiting; drug crimes; larceny; murder; perjury; prostitution; rape; receiving stolen goods; robbery, and sexual offenses. Crimes that usually do not involve moral turpitude include simple assault, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, unlawful gambling and violations of government regulations.

As for aggravated felonies, in the bizarre world of immigration law, even some misdemeanors are considered aggravated felonies. Examples of aggravated felonies are drug trafficking and crimes involving theft where the judge sentenced the defendant to one year in jail.

Waivers and defenses are available for those facing deportation for some of these offenses.

Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.