Supreme Court Upholds Deportation for Filling False Tax Return

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has the authority to label the crime of filing false tax returns, an "aggravated felony," subjecting lawful legal immigrants to automatic deportation.  The case involved Akio and Fukado Kawashima, a Japanese couple who came to the United States in 1984 with a goal of succeeding in business.  They opened up and operated a few popular sushi restaurants in California.  They never became U.S. citizens but were granted lawful permanent residence in the 1980's.  However, in 1991 they filed tax returns in which they underreported their income.  The federal government filed criminal charges against them and they plead guilty and paid $245,000 in penalties and interest.  They paid the entire amount in full and the husband ended up serving 4 months in a federal prison.  Ten years later, the Immigration and Naturalization Service decided to deport them.  In a 6 to 3 decision, the Supreme Court sided with Immigration and Naturalization and the Kawashima's have now been deported.  Tax lawyers point out that this ruling sends an ominous warning to legal immigrants.  If they are caught lying on their taxes, not only could they be forced to pay heavy monetary penalties, but they could also be deported.  This would apply to any false statement on a tax return made by a legal immigrant.  Immigration officials point to a 1994 provision created by Congress which defined "aggravated felony" to include "fraud" and "deceit" that cost the victims more than $200,000.  That threshold has since been lowered to $10,000.  It seems that deportation would apply to cases in which criminal charges were filed, not in cases involving only a civil penalty sought by the IRS.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.legaldefenderspc.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Supreme Court Rules On Aggravated Felony For Immigration Purposes

The United States Supreme Court today issued a ruling on a case involving what is considered an aggravated felony for immigration deportation purposes.  Jose Angel Carachuri-Rosendo was convicted in state court of simple drug possession of a single Xanax pill a year after he had received 20 days in jail for possessing 2 ounces of marijuana.  The state prosecutor had the option to charge him with an aggravated felony because if was his second case, but chose not to.  The federal government sought to have him removed from the country because he had committed an aggravated felony on the basis that it was his second conviction which amounted to a serious, or aggravated felony.  Carachuri-Rosendo argued that he had not been convicted of an aggravated felony.  The Supreme Court held that the immigration court cannot enhance the state judgment by substituting its judgment over that of the state court.  Since there was no finding of recidivism by the state court, the immigration court cannot add their judgment to that of the state court.

The impact of this decision is that a second conviction does not automatically make someone eligible for deportation.  The federal government had argued that since a second conviction for a minor drug offense would be considered an aggravated felony under federal law, immigrants convicted of a second minor drug offense in state court would be subject to automatic deportations.  That is no longer the case and thousands of immigrants who fall under the same set of facts can now petition the immigration judge for leniency.  Before this decision, deportation was automatic and they could not seek leniency.  Carachuri-Rosendo, who was well over 30 years old, has been in the United States legally since he was 5 years old.  His common law wife, mother, sister and 4 children are all U.S. citizens.  Carachuri-Rosendo had actually been deported to Mexico.

The case is Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, 09-60.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.