Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

Title

Deportation and Justice: A Constitutional Dialogue

Document Type

Article

Comments

Boston College Law School Legal Research Series Paper No. 2000-13

Abstract

Recent statutory changes to the United States immigration law have resulted in a large increase in the number of lawful permanent resident noncitizens who are deported because of prior criminal conduct. Now, deportation is often a virtually automatic consequence of conviction for an increasingly minor array of crimes including possessory drug offenses and shoplifting. Under current statutory law, permanent resident noncitizens may be deported for crimes that were not grounds for deportation when they were committed and there may be no possibiilty of mercy or humanitarian relief. This Dialogue explores arguments for and against this system. Specifically, it examines the idea, rooted in history, that deportation is an unconstitutional punishment for criminal offenses.

Date of Authorship for this Version

July 2000

Keywords

immigration law, deportation, permanent resident noncitizens, criminal conduct, criminal offenses, conviction,