US Immigration News & Commentary

December 5, 2006

Simple possession not an aggravated felony. SCOTUS.

Filed under: Immigration — justin @ 12:34 pm

Today the Supreme Court of the United States decided that a state felony conviction for drug possession is not an aggravated felony unless it would be a felony under federal law. In this case the offense of possession would have only been a misdemeanor under federal law and was not akin to “trafficking” which is an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Though a conviction may still be a controlled substance violation, this decision means that remedies to removal such as “Cancellation of Removal” and “Voluntary Departure” are again on the table.

The decision can be found here.

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