Conviction not needed to deport legal immigrants, attorneys say (Newton TAB)

Conviction not needed to deport legal immigrants, attorneys say

By John Hilliard
GateHouse News Service
Posted Feb 13, 2010 @ 01:37 PM

Newton — A legal immigrant could face deportation proceedings even if he’s not convicted of a crime — and knowing what crimes that could lead to deportation can be difficult, area immigration attorneys said.

“You don’t always need a conviction,” said immigration attorney Harvey Kaplan.

Last month, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Antranik Sarkissian, 46, of 76 Margaret Road, on a violation of immigration status warrant, according to Newton Police. He lived in the country legally, but is not an American citizen.

He will face a federal immigration judge in Boston, who will decide whether to send him to his home country of Lebanon, according to ICE.

Sarkissian was among 24 people in the Boston area arrested by ICE agents as part of a national operation to catch suspected gang members.

The agency told the TAB that Sarkissian’s “significant violent criminal history makes him removable from the U.S. He will receive due process as provided by the law.”

According to records at Newton District Court, Sarkissian was involved in four separate cases in 2009, but a judge dismissed a charge of assault and battery in February.

Prosecutors also didn’t have enough evidence to pursue charges of aggravated assault and battery in November, and larceny over $250 in January 2009, according to the court.

The remaining charge — larceny by a single scheme for $250 — will be dismissed when Sarkissian pays a $500 fine. He’s already paid $350, according to the court.

Because federal officials can’t comment on Sarkissian’s case due to privacy laws, and his complete arrest record is confidential; it’s unclear specifically why Sarkissian was arrested.

But Kaplan, a Newton resident who has been representing clients for 35 years, said it’s possible for a noncitizen to be deported even if they haven’t been proven guilty in a court.

“The government can change the rules retroactively. It’s crazy,” said Kaplan, who has taught at Harvard and Northeastern universities.

Kaplan said the “byzantine” immigration laws make it difficult to determine what cases and offenses could lead to deportation for a noncitizen living here legally.

Lenore Glaser, another Boston-area criminal defense and immigration attorney, said part of the problem is how federal officials determine whether a noncitizen should face removal from the country.

In Massachusetts, a defendant whose case is continued without a finding is not technically convicted of a crime. But if a defendant admitted to sufficient facts that could have led to a conviction, federal officials could use that information to take action against that person’s immigration status, she said.

Massachusetts law requires courts to remind immigrant defendants that their pleas could affect their immigration status, including being removed from the country or denial of naturalization, she said. In the past, defense attorneys wouldn’t always know the legal implications if an immigrant defendant plead guilty to certain offenses, she said. Now, they’ll often contact an immigration lawyer to review the implications of a specific plea.

“I think generally the defense bar is much more savvy than they were a few years ago,” said Glaser, who teaches at Suffolk and Brandeis universities.

The 1996 change gave the government the ability to determine which convictions could lead to deportation for a noncitizen, and retroactively apply that standard to a noncitizen convicted of certain crimes. Federal officials particularly focus on drug offenses and domestic violence charges, said Glaser.

Laura Rotolo, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said she’s defending a Nigerian man who pleaded guilty in 1986 to drug trafficking in exchange for assisting in a government investigation into drug dealers.

In 2000, though, the government moved to deport him back to Nigeria for the conviction, and Rotolo said he’s been fighting his removal in court ever since. She said her client was told that pleading guilty would not affect his legal immigration status when he first made his plea deal.

Rotolo said that defense attorneys still need more training on immigration law.

“It’s very harsh ... it’s been a huge struggle educating defense attorneys” about immigration law, said Rotolo.