An Overview of the Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility and Deportability

[rangerrebew]

An Overview of the Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility and Deportability
It’s safer to just not break the law, especially if you’re a visitor to this country
 
By Andrew R. Arthur on September 17, 2025

I recently analyzed the removal process, from border and port encounters and ICE investigations through the federal court appeals process. As I alluded to therein, under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), certain crimes render aliens — even lawful permanent residents, i.e., “green card holders” — removable from the United States.

The INA contains separate grounds of inadmissibility and deportability for aliens who have committed criminal offenses (here and abroad), the former applying to aliens who have not been admitted to the United States and the latter applying to those who have been lawfully admitted but are removable on criminal grounds. Here’s a (rather in-depth) overview.

The Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility
The criminal grounds of inadmissibility are set forth in various paragraphs, subparagraphs, clauses, and even subclauses of section 212(a)(2) of the INA.

First, under section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), “any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense) or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime” is inadmissible.

Note that inadmissibility under this provision does not require a conviction; rather, pursuant to statute, an “admission” to a “crime involving moral turpitude” (CIMT) is sufficient.

That said, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has held that, to constitute a valid admission to a CIMT absent a conviction, the alien must be presented with the statute in question from the jurisdiction where the offense is alleged to have been committed; to have that statute explained in plain language; and to admit to the key elements of that offense.

https://cis.org/Arthur/Overview-Criminal-Grounds-Inadmissibility-and-Deportability

[Smokin Joe]

Interesting:

Under section 212(a)(2)(G) of the INA: “Any alien who, while serving as a foreign government official, was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 6402 of title 22, is inadmissible.”

The referenced provision, at 22 U.S.C. § 6402(13), defines “particularly severe violations of religious freedom”, as:

    systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, including violations such as — (A) torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; (B) prolonged detention without charges; (C) causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine detention of those persons; or (D) other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons.

Even more so:

The “aggravated felony” ground of deportation in section 237(a)(2)(A)(iii) of the INA renders deportable any alien who has been admitted to the United States and who has been convicted of any of the more than 30 aggravated felony offenses defined in section 101(a)(43) of the INA.

Those offenses include: “murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor”; “illicit trafficking in a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of title 21), including a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 924(c) of title 18)”; “illicit trafficking in firearms or destructive devices ... or in explosive materials” as defined under federal criminal statutes; crimes of violence as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 16 “for which a term of imprisonment of” a year or more was imposed; theft, receipt of stolen property, or burglary offenses for which a sentence of a year or more was imposed; and child pornography offenses as defined in specified federal criminal statutes.

Which explains why the Left's prosecutors and judges are so soft on crime.