San Antonio Immigration Law Blog

If you are an immigrant, deportation is always a potential risk until you receive full citizenship. While a green card offers you a certain amount of security and stability to establish a life in the United States, many crimes can still be punishable by deportation—even after you become a lawful permanent resident.

Deportable crimes

About 20 miles south of the Canadian border, at a convenience store in Havre, Montana, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer stopped and detained two local residents who were picking up a few groceries. Their crime? Speaking Spanish.

The two women in question are both U.S.-born American citizens of Latin American descent. After going to the gym together, they stopped by the store to pick up some milk and eggs. The two conversed in Spanish as they waited in line. This fact alone was enough to put CBP agent O’Neal—who was also a customer in the store—on high alert.

You’re driving home late at night after a long day at work. Suddenly, you look up and see the lights of a police car flashing in your rear-view mirror. The officer pulls you over and asks whether you’ve been drinking. You haven’t; you’re simply exhausted. The officer, however, doesn’t believe you—and arrests you on the spot.

Under the best of circumstances, getting arrested for a crime you didn’t commit would be extremely frustrating. You might end up spending the night in jail until you can contact a lawyer and clear up the misunderstanding. As an immigrant in the same situation, however, an incident like this can compromise their entire future. As a non-citizen, facing a criminal charge—even one that doesn’t result in conviction—could result in deportation.

The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…”. These lines were intended to give hope to immigrants from around the world, traveling to America in search of a brighter future.

In recent years, however, attitudes have shifted dramatically. There is a growing opinion that immigrants will drain the U.S. economy and steal American jobs. Anti-immigrant voices on Capitol Hill are also getting louder. Virtually every week, we see new policies designed to deter immigrants from entering the country.