United States Second Circuit

Section 511(a) of the Immigration Act of 1990's exclusion of "an alien who has been convicted of an aggravated felony and has served a term of imprisonment of at least 5 years" from eligibility for discretionary relief from deportation is not impermissibly retroactive as to an alien who pled guilty to a disqualifying felony after the Act's enactment, even though he confessed guilt to police prior to the enactment. Also, section 404(d) of the AEDPA's exclusion of all aliens convicted of "aggravated felonies" from eligibility for discretionary relief from deportation is not impermissibly retroactive as to an alien whose conviction pre-dated the AEDPA, but who was statutorily barred from discretionary relief by the time he sought such relief even under pre-AEDPA law because he had already served more than five years imprisonment.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/13/2008
• Published 03/13/2008

Judges

• PER CURIAM:, Before:  WINTER and WESLEY, Circuit Judges, and COGAN, District Judge.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Daniel R. Murphy, Avirom & Associates, LLP, New York, NY, for Petitioner.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jeffrey S. Buchholtz, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice (James E. Grimes, Dimitri N. Rocha, Office of Immigration Litigation, on the brief), for Respondent.