Community Safety and Security Act Passes in House to Boost Deportation of Criminal Aliens

On Friday, the House of Representatives passed the Community Safety and Security Act which addressed the federal definition of a “crime of violence” under immigration law which would prompt the mandatory deportation of a noncitizen. This change would make it easier to charge immigrations with an aggravated felony and deport them. This came after the Supreme Court ruled in April that that deferral definition of a crime of violence was impermissibly vague. Opponents of this bills state that in the House’s hastiness to pass it, it does not consider how this bill will “trigger a significant expansion of the penalties attached to even minor criminal conduct in federal criminal court, exacerbate the mass incarceration crisis, and render even more immigrants subject to the disproportionate penalty of deportation”. This bill has not yet been made into law, it will have to go through the Senate next, with the current outcome unclear.

Among the offenses that would be considered a “crime of violence” under the bill is listed as follows:

“murder, voluntary manslaughter, assault, sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, child abuse, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, firearms use, burglary, arson, extortion, communication of threats, coercion, fleeing, interference with flight crew members and attendants, domestic violence, hostage taking, stalking, human trafficking, piracy, or a terrorism offense” defined elsewhere in federal law. Also qualifying would be any offense involving illegal explosives or weapons of mass destruction or involving “the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another.” To find out about crimes and immigration, please click here. To find out about waivers and whether you qualify, please click here.