Juvenile Defender Training

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Juvenile Defender Training  

• Suffolk University
• Law School
• May 21, 2004

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Topics-1

• Background Issues
• Who is a citizen?
• Types of immigration status

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Topics-2

• Consequences of Juvenile Delinquency Dispositions
• Removal
• Naturalization
• Noncitizens returning to U.S.
• Remedies
• Strategies

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Who is a Citizen?

• Anyone born in U.S. and subject to jurisdiction
  of U.S. (e.g. not foreign embassy personnel).
• Anyone naturalized
• Certain technical statuses
• parent naturalized before kid turns 18
• unknown parents found in U.S. under 5

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Citizen vs. noncitizen

• A citizen does face immigration consequences at
  all
• Any noncitizen can be kicked out of the country
  or kept out of the country if she or he violates
  the immigration laws.

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Types of Immigration Status

• Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder)-
  A person who is able to live in U.S. indefinitely
  unless she or he falls under a ground of
  deportability

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Types of Immigration Status

• Undocumented person
• could have come in with a visa or
• never had a visa
• Asylee- A noncitizen with a well-founded
  fear of persecution who gets status in U.S.
• Refugee- A noncitizen with a well-founded fear of
  persecution who gets status outside of U.S.
  applies outside of U.S.

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Types of Consequences

• Getting kicked out of U.S. (look to grounds of
  deportability (8 U.S.C. 1227)
• Being unable to return to U.S. (look to grounds
  of inadmissibility (8 U.S.C. 1182)
• Making it more difficult to naturalize

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Excludability vs. Deportability

• The grounds of deportability include convictions
  for
• controlled substances
• firearms
• crimes of moral turpitude
• aggravated felonies

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Excludability vs. Deportability

• The grounds of inadmissibility include
  convictions for
• controlled substances
• crimes of moral turpitude

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Excludability vs. Deportability

• Even without a conviction a noncitizen may come
  under the grounds of inadmissibility

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Excludability vs. Deportability

• The grounds of inadmissibility apply if
• a noncitizen admits committing a drug crime or a
  crime involving moral turpitude
• there is a reason to believe that a noncitizen
  is a drug trafficker

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Juvenile Delinquency Disposition

• There is a federal definition of conviction for
  immigration purposes (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)
• An adjudication of delinquency is not a
  conviction for immigration purposes Matter of
  Devison, 22 IN Dec 1362 (BIA 2000)

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Consequences of Delinquency Adjudication

• A noncitizen adjudicated delinquent does not
  come under the grounds of deportability for
  drugs, moral turpitude, aggravated felonies or
  firearms because she or he does not have a
  conviction

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Consequences of Delinquency Adjudication

• A noncitizen cannot be inadmissible for
  admitting to a crime for which she or he would
  face mandatory juvenile treatment under federal
  law. Matter of M-U-, 2 I. N. Dec. 92 (BIA 1944)
  
• Even an adult cannot admit essential elements of
  controlled substance or moral turpitude offense
  if the conduct required mandatory delinquency
  treatment

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Consequences of Delinquency Adjudication

• The government can use the reason to believe
  ground of inadmissibility to keep out a
  noncitizen who has a delinquency adjudication for
  drug distribution

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Consequences of Delinquency Adjudication

• In the naturalization context, an examiner can
  consider the conduct that lead to a juvenile
  delinquency adjudication to determine whether
  applicant is a person of good moral character.

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Legal Strategies

• Avoid transfer to adult court because a
  disposition in adult court is a conviction
• Avoid a delinquency adjudication where underlying
  conduct involves controlled substances because it
  could result in reason to believe
  inadmissibility

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Legal Strategies

• Check Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act (18 USC
  5032) for offenses that require mandatory
  juvenile treatment to avoid controlled substance
  or or moral turpitude inadmissibility
• Plead to adjudications of delinquency for crimes
  that require mandatory juvenile treatment under
  federal law to avoid possible future
  inadmissibility for admitting a crime