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1 1 (June 29, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemcw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______ C. fesearch Service Supreme Court Considers Meaning of An Offense Relating to Obstruction of Justice for Immigration Enforcement Purposes June 29, 2023 On June 22, 2023, in Pugin v. Garland (decided together with Garland v Cordero-Garcia), the Supreme Court considered the meaning of the phrase an offense relating to obstruction of justice for immigration enforcement purposes. Under federal statute, an alien who has been lawfully admitted to the United States but is later convicted of an aggravated felony, which is defined to include, among other things, a federal or state offense relating to obstruction of justice, is subject to removal from the United States. Resolving a circuit split, the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision held that a criminal offense constitutes an offense relating to obstruction of justice, and therefore an aggravated felony, even if the offense does not require a pending investigation or proceeding. Statutory Background Under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, classified in Title 8 of the US. Code, aliens lawfully admitted into the United States, including lawful permanent residents (LPRs), are subject to removal if they have committed certain enumerated criminal offenses. Specifically, under 8 U.S.C. @ 1227(a)(iii), an alien convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission is removable. Apart from removal, an alien convicted of an aggravated felony may be ineligible for various forms of relief from removal (e.g., asylum and cancellation of removal), and, if removed from the United States, may be permanently barred from future admission into the United States. In 1996, pursuant to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, Congress expanded the definition of aggravated felony, found in 8 U.S.C. @ 1101(a)(43), to include a wide range of criminal offenses. The expansion resulted in @S 110 1(a)(43)(S), which defines an aggravated felony to include an offense relating to obstruction of justice, perjury or subornation of perjury, or bribery of a witness, for which the term of imprisonment is at least one year. The statute does not define an offense relating to obstruction of justice. However, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the highest administrative body responsible for interpreting and applying federal immigration laws, provided some guidance in Matter of alenzuela Gallardo. In this Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10994 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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