A conviction in Colorado for any crime related to domestic violence can have severe immigration implications for a person. Once a person has been convicted of a domestic violence related offense, even if the crime is a misdemeanor, that individual is subject to deportation, ineligibility for a green card, denial of a visa and/or denial of a person’s immigration status adjustment.
It is important to understand that, under Colorado state law, “domestic violence” is not a standalone criminal charge. Instead, it is a sentence enhancer[i]. Therefore, the prosecution has a wide variety of assault-type crimes to which it can attach the domestic violence label if the facts indicate such.
Under federal law, a domestic violence related conviction for an immigrant makes the person “deportable.” [ii] Deportable means the person is subject to removal from the United States by order of the United States Department of Justice [iii]. Domestic violence is defined very broadly within federal law:
For purposes of this clause, the term “crime of domestic violence” means any crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code) against a person committed by a current or former spouse of the person, by an individual with whom the person shares a child in common, by an individual who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the person as a spouse, by an individual similarly situated to a spouse of the person under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction where the offense occurs, or by any other individual against a person who is protected from that individual’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the United States or any State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government. [iv]
Likewise, “crime of violence” is also outlined in federal law very broadly, meaning: 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 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. [v]
To complicate matters further, domestic violence may be considered a crime involving moral turpitude under federal immigration law.[vi] Federal courts in Colorado have defined crimes of moral turpitude “as ‘refer[ring] to conduct which is inherently base, vile, or depraved, contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between man and man, either one’s fellow man or society in general.’”[vii] A conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude makes a foreign resident inadmissible in the United States. [viii] Inadmissibility under federal immigration law means the individual will not be allowed to enter or re-enter the country, or obtain green card status after the person is admitted to the country.
Finally, a serious domestic violence conviction which involves significant bodily injury or use a weapon may be considered an “aggravated felony” under federal immigration law. An “aggravated felony” is a crime of violence as defined under federal law for which the term of imprisonment is at least one year.[ix] Conviction of an aggravated felony subjects an immigrant to being labeled “deportable” and potentially removed from the country.[x]
An immigrant hit with domestic violence related charges faces daunting challenges. The state criminal proceedings are serious enough but are just the start of a significant odyssey. The person is now subject to possible deportation and removal from the United States. Mile High Legal has expert counsel knowledgeable in both criminal and immigration law. Contact us to obtain help with both your criminal defense and immigration issues.
[i] § 18-6-801, C.R.S.
[ii] 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)
[iii] 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)
[iv] 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i)
[v] 18 U.S.C. § 16
[vi] Alonso-Bernabe v. Sessions, 696 Fed. Appx. 920, 921 (10th Cir. 2017)
[vii] United States v. Zazi, 356 F. Supp. 3d 1105, 1116–1117 (D. Colo. 2018)
[viii] 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I)
[ix] 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F)
[x] 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii)
