The Trump administration accused the Supreme Court of hindering its ability to deport immigrants convicted of certain crimes and called on Congress to act after the high court struck down a provision of federal immigration law subjecting immigrants to mandatory deportation if they are convicted of a crime of violence.
In separate statements from the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, administration officials criticized the court’s 5-4 ruling in the case. The Supreme Court sided Tuesday with James Garcia Dimaya, a native of the Philippines who had two residential burglary convictions and faced deportation under federal immigration law.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s nominee to the court and a member of the conservative wing, sided with liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor.
“Today’s ruling significantly undermines DHS’s efforts to remove aliens convicted of certain violent crimes, including sexual assault, kidnapping, and burglary, from the United States,” Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said. “By preventing the federal government from removing known criminal aliens, it allows our nation to be a safe haven for criminals and makes us more vulnerable as a result.”
Houlton said Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen has met with hundreds of lawmakers to “implore them to take action on passing legislation to close public safety loopholes, such as these, that encourage illegal immigration and tie the hands of law enforcement.”
The Justice Department, which defended the immigration law, also appealed to Congress to pass legislation in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The Justice Department believes that certain crimes committed by an illegal alien, visa holder, or an alien otherwise granted lawful status in the United States, should trigger their removal,” Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley said. “Therefore, we call on Congress to close criminal alien loopholes to ensure that criminal aliens who commit those crimes — for example, burglary in many states, drug trafficking in Florida, and even sexual abuse of a minor in New Jersey — are not able to avoid the consequences that should come with breaking our nation’s laws.”
The case stems from Dimaya’s residential burglary convictions in 2007 and 2009, neither of which involved violence. Dimaya immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when he was 13 as a lawful permanent resident.
The Department of Homeland Security under the Obama administration sought to deport Dimaya. The Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals then agreed that Dimaya should be deported, as one of the convictions constituted an “aggravated felony” and therefore made him subject to deportation.
But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and said the definition of “aggravated felony” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which incorporates the definition of crime of violence, was unconstitutionality vague.
The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling, delivering a blow to the Trump administration as it continues with its focus on deporting immigrants who commit crimes.
