WASHINGTON—The White House has responded to a Supreme Court decision that will allow some non-citizens convicted of an aggravated felony to remain in the United States, rather than be deported.
The 5–4 Supreme Court decision saw Justice Neil Gorsuch join the liberal side of the bench, saying the interpretation of part of the law was unconstitutionally vague.
The White House said the decision highlights the “danger posed by congressional inaction.”
“Congress should immediately pass a fix to close these loopholes so that the United States can promptly remove violent criminal aliens from our country,” the administration said in a statement on April 18.
“Unless Congress acts, the United States government will be unable to remove from our communities many non-citizens convicted of violent felonies, including in some cases domestic assault and battery, burglary, and child abuse. It is a matter of vital public safety for Congress to act now.”
In its decision, the Supreme Court sided with California burglar James Garcia Dimaya, a legal immigrant from the Philippines.
Federal authorities had ordered Dimaya deported after he was convicted in two California home burglaries in 2007 and 2009. Neither burglary involved violence.
(L-R) U.S. Supreme Court Justices John G. Roberts, Stephen G. Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Neil M. Gorsuch attend the State of the Union address in Washington D.C. on Jan. 30, 2018. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Justice Elena Kagan, who wrote the ruling, said ambiguity surrounding the crimes of violence provision created confusion in lower courts. “Does car burglary qualify as a violent felony?” Kagan wrote. “Some courts say yes, another says no.” Kagan mentioned other examples including evading arrest and trespassing in which courts have also been divided.
An aggravated felony includes a “crime of violence, ” defined by the U.S. Code as:
(a) an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or
(b) any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.
At issue is the second part of the definition, which, the justices said, can result in “more unpredictability and arbitrariness than the Due Process Clause tolerates.”
It is not clear how many deportations would be affected.
Guatemalan immigrants deported from the United States arrive on an ICE deportation flight in Guatemala City, on Feb. 9, 2017. John Moore/Getty Images
Department of Homeland Security Press Secretary Tyler Houlton released a statement on April 17, decrying the decision.
“Today’s ruling significantly undermines DHS’s efforts to remove aliens convicted of certain violent crimes, including sexual assault, kidnapping, and burglary, from the United States,” Houlton said. “By preventing the federal government from removing known criminal aliens, it allows our nation to be a safe haven for criminals and makes us more vulnerable as a result.”
ICE Acting Director Tom Homan said he was disappointed by the court’s decision, but that ICE will abide by it.
“However, it will have an adverse impact on our ability to establish that aliens convicted of certain violent crimes —such as sexual offenses, kidnapping, and burglary—are removable from the United States and ineligible for certain immigration benefits,” he said in a statement on April 18.
“It is yet another example of the need for Congress to urgently close the loopholes that allow criminal aliens to avoid removal and remain in the United States.”
Additional reporting by Reuters.
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