The Coveted Green Card-Is It Enough?

May 19, 2010 - 10:01 AM

"Green Card" is a common, well-known term in American vernacular, esteemed for the status it signifies, namely that of lawful permanent resident. What is less known, however, are the limits of the status, and the hidden dangers to the uninformed, particularly in the current political climate of fear and insecurity.

"Permanent residents" - those with lawful permanent resident status - are permitted to work, own property, travel outside the United States, and obtain government benefits, so long as they maintain their status; in short, they are entitled to virtually all of the practical benefits of citizenship.

Permanent residents are not, however, citizens, and as a result are not entitled to vote, to hold political office, to live abroad for extended periods, or to entry into the United States without examination. Their status is an entitlement that may be taken away from them.

Permanent residents who are outside of the United States for more than one year may be deemed by the U.S. to have abandoned their permanent resident status and that status may be taken away from them. As a practical matter, permanent residents who have been outside of the United States for longer than several months are likely to be subjected to heightened scrutiny in the port or at the border upon their return, and, if at any time it is determined that they have lost their intent to permanently reside in the U.S., they could be put into removal proceedings to take away their status and remove (deport) them from the United States.

A more common occurrence is the removal of permanent residents who have been convicted of certain crimes, including "crimes of moral turpitude," which involve conduct "inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general." Such crimes consist of, among others, assault crimes, weapons crimes, DUI crimes, domestic abuse crimes (including violations of orders for protection), robbery, murder, manslaughter, sex crimes, property crimes, fraud against the government, and drug offenses.

Removal of a murderer does not seem like such a bad idea to the average citizen, but more often permanent residents are threatened with deportation for a conviction of less serious offenses. For example, a person having been charged with a fairly innocuous drug possession crime, or involved in an altercation with a girlfriend or boyfriend that leads to prosecution, will often be induced to strike a plea bargain in order to avoid extensive proceedings before the court or high legal fees. Plea bargains are commonly used by the prosecution and defense attorneys alike to allow the system as a whole to function more efficiently. However, by pleading guilty to crimes without knowing the immigration consequences, permanent residents may find themselves removed from the United States and stripped of their green cards. This is particularly a shock to individuals who have lived their whole lives in the United States, not feeling it necessary to take the next step and apply for citizenship. The consequences of this can be likened to "double jeopardy,"-being prosecuted twice for the same crime-something prohibited by our Constitution, but nonetheless allowed because the government considers removal a civil, and not a criminal, proceeding. As a result, many Constitutional protections are inapplicable to removal proceedings.

It is important, therefore, for those eligible for citizenship to strongly consider application, and for those permanent residents who have fallen afoul of the law to strongly consider contacting an attorney knowledgeable in immigration law, as well as criminal law.

The "Green Card" remains a useful and valuable status; citizenship, however, is the only truly "permanent" status.

Matthew M. Armbrecht