WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Supreme Court this week ruled 8-to-1 that a non-citizen or greencard holder cannot be subject to mandatory deportation because of a minor drug crime.
Justice David H. Souter, in interpreting the U.S. immigration laws, said the government was basing its interpretation on a strained and far-fetched reading of the term “drug trafficking crime” as laid out in the federal criminal code.
The ruling would allow immigrants convicted of simple drug possession to not be deportable. The historic case was filed on behalf of Jose Antonio Lopez, in the Lopez v. Gonzales case.
Lopez had pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting another person’s possession of cocaine and was deported after losing an appeal. But the ruling this week would make him qualified for a cancellation of deportation.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said officials now must determine how the court’s ruling could affect recent and pending deportation cases involving small time drug offenses.
