A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a minor New Jersey offense is still a criminal conviction under U.S. immigration law, upholding a deportation order for a longtime resident. The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit centers on Kwok Sum Wong, a native of Hong Kong and Chinese citizen who has lived in the United States as a permanent resident since 1979. [snip] Immigration officials classified both as “crimes involving moral turpitude.” Under federal law, two such crimes can trigger mandatory deportation. Wong challenged the deportation, arguing that his New Jersey case was only a “disorderly persons offense”—a minor infraction under New Jersey law that resulted in just a $200 fine and was not classified as an official state “crime.” Because of that, he argued, it should not count as a formal federal conviction. [snip] The three-judge panel ultimately concluded that the label a state puts on an offense does not change how federal immigration law applies. Judge Richard J. Sullivan explained that Wong’s case involved all the basic constitutional safeguards of a criminal trial—such as the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the right to confront witnesses—and carried a potential jail sentence of up to six months. [snip] The court noted that U.S. immigration laws must apply uniformly nationwide, meaning a person’s deportation status cannot depend on how individual states choose to name or classify low-level violations. (*) Full article: https://www.tampafp.com/200-fine-could-cost-him-his-green-card-court-rules-low-level-offense-counts-for-deportation Post navigation North Carolina: Biden-Released Illegal Alien Accused of Killing 51-Year-Old Man in Hit-and-Run James Talarico accused of siding with teen killer Karmelo Anthony after lamenting ‘there were no black members of the jury’ at his trial
