By Curtis Brodner
(WASHINGTON) A U.S. Supreme Court ruling against an immigrant who was deported despite his permanent resident status for a DUI will make it harder for immigrants who commit nonviolent crimes to defend themselves in court, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The court voted unanimously on Monday that even though Refugio Palomar-Santiago had been wrongfully deported in 1998, his re-entry to the country was illegal.
Federal law states noncitizens must commit an “aggravated felony” that is a “crime of violence” in order to warrant deportation.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that driving under the influence does not fit this description because it is a crime of negligence and does not involve intent to do harm.
Because Palomar-Santiago had permanent resident status, he should not have been deported for his misdemeanor DUI.
The 62-year-old Mexican national argued that if his deportation order was invalid, his re-entry should not be considered unlawful — a line of reasoning a federal judge agreed with before the appeal to the Supreme Court.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the decision, said there are three statutes that would allow an immigrant who was wrongfully deported to challenge the decision in court. They must have “exhausted administrative remedies” and been “deprived of the opportunity for judicial review,” and the order must have been “fundamentally unfair.”
The court determined Palomar-Santiago had only met the last statute.