Millions of people presently reside in the United States as noncitizens. Many of these individuals are great residents who just want to make a living for themselves and their families. However, the government can deport them in a myriad of ways, and committing certain crimes can lead to that.
All noncitizens must remain on the right side of the law, especially when they are in the middle of the legalization process. Here are some kinds of offenses that could cause deportation.
Aggravated felonies
The Immigration and Nationality Act contains a full list of crimes that allows authorities to remove noncitizens from the United States. Aggravated felonies are the most common reason deportation occurs. The list of aggravated felonies includes tax evasion, fraud, money laundering, abuse of a minor, firearm trafficking, drug trafficking, rape and murder. Treason, sabotage and espionage can also result in deportation as well as perjury as long as it comes with a minimum sentence of one year.
In the event a noncitizen receives a conviction for one of these offenses, there is not much he or she can do to avoid deportation. The best the immigrant can do is acquire competent legal counsel to try to avoid an outright aggravated felony conviction.
Violations of law
Deportation is also on the table if the noncitizen violates the terms of his or her legal status. For example, a noncitizen cannot illegally bring another foreign national into the United States within five years of his or her own entry into the country.
Additionally, deportation is possible if the individual commits marriage fraud. Many people marry U.S. citizens to gain entry into the country. If authorities discover the couple purposely married to gain citizenship status without actually loving each other, then law enforcement will remove the immigrant from the country.
