WASHINGTON —
The Supreme Court made it harder Monday for an immigant to defend himself against a charge of unlawful entry, even though he was wrongly sent out of the country more than 20 years ago based on a DUI conviction.
The ruling will have a particular impact in California because the 9th Circuit Court based in San Francisco had allowed immigrants to win a reprieve from a federal judge if their deportation order was “fundamentally unfair.”
The high court overruled that approach Monday and said federal judges are usually not authorized to take up such complaints.
Federal law calls for deporting noncitizens who are convicted of an “aggravated felony” that is a “crime of violence.” But in 2004, the high court ruled that driving under the influence is not a crime of violence because it involves negligence rather than an intent to do harm.