INS v. St. Cyr

No. 00-767 (U.S. Sup. Ct. June 25, 2001) ; Clearinghouse Number: 53885

Description

Aliens Subject to Deportation Based on Criminal Convictions May Seek Habeas Corpus Relief in Federal Courts

Abstract

The U.S. Supreme Court held that aliens subject to deportation based on criminal convictions had a right to appeal their deportation orders to the federal courts. Respondent, a lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty to a criminal charge that made him deportable. Although respondent would have been eligible for waiver of deportation under the immigration law in effect when he was convicted, his removal proceedings commenced after the effective dates of the Antiterroism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which purported to exclude aliens convicted of criminal offenses from waiver of deportation. The district court, in accepting respondent’s habeas corpus application, found that the new restrictions the two Acts imposed did not apply to removal proceedings against an alien who pleaded guilty to a deportable crime before their enactment. The Second Circuit affirmed, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed. Affirming, the Supreme Court held that federal courts had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to decide the legal issue that respondent’s petition raised. Noting that the Constitution’s suspension clause unquestionably required some judicial intervention in deportation cases, the Court found that construing the two Acts to preclude court review of a question of law would give rise to constitutional questions. To conclude that the writ of habeas corpus was no longer available in this context would be a departure from historical immigration law practice. Finding that neither Act expressed a clear and unambiguous statement of congressional intent to bar petitions under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, the Court held that waiver of deportation remained available for aliens whose convictions came about through plea agreements and who, notwithstanding those convictions, would have been eligible for such relief at the time of their plea under the law then in effect.

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Attorney Information
Docket Date
2001-06-25 00:00:00+00:00

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