The Immigration Law Death Penalty: Aggravated Felonies, Deportation, and Legal Resistance

Traces the role of the aggravated felony in today’s deportation regime

In immigration courts across America, a non-citizen convicted of an “aggravated felony” will almost certainly face deportation with no access to asylum. However, despite the ominous-sounding name, aggravated felonies need not be either “aggravated” or “felonies.” The term encompasses more than thirty offenses, ranging from check fraud and shoplifting to filing a false tax return. The recent expansion in the list of such o...