The U.S. Supreme Court will review two rulings that have allowed immigrants accused of crimes to try to stop their deportations.
Currently, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the attorney general can cancel the removal of an immigrant who is up for deportation if he or she has been in the country legally for more than five years, or illegally for more than seven years. If that person has continuously lived in the United States and has not been convicted of an aggravated felony, they may seek mercy.
The other ruling that is being challenged allows undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to count their parents' years in the country towards the required amount needed to fight a deportation.
"More and more people are deported, because less and less have any way to fight it," said Carlos Batara, a San Diego-based immigration lawyer specializing in immigration appeals. "So, since the Supreme Court says you can come back and fight certain convictions, now the Obama Administration is saying, wait a minute, we don't like that."
The Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to clarify the law, saying the deportation rules are in conflict with its high-priority efforts to remove criminal aliens.
