Supreme Court hears deportation debate

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wrestled with the question of whether convictions for minor crimes should force the deportation of legal immigrants, as justices heard the first oral arguments of the new term Tuesday.

Thousands of immigrants who have run afoul of the law, some for possessing small amounts of drugs, could be affected by the outcome of Tuesday's arguments.

The justices took part in questioning lawyers from both sides as the Bush administration asserted that immigrants convicted of state drug felonies must be deported even if the same crimes are considered only misdemeanors under federal law.

Jose Antonio Lopez, of Sioux Falls, S.D., was ordered deported after he pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting possession of cocaine. The crime is a felony under South Dakota state law, but only a misdemeanor under the federal Controlled Substances Act if it is a first offense for cocaine possession, as it was in Lopez's case.

"The problem here is that state law and federal law are at odds in determining the gravity of the offense," Justice David Souter said.

Several justices said they were troubled that two people who commit the same crime in different states would be treated differently by federal immigration authorities. Federal appeals courts have split over interpreting the immigration law at issue in the case.

Defending the government's approach, Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler said the law as Congress wrote it "looks to state law." If a drug crime is a felony under state law, it is a felony that leads to deportation under federal law, he said.

Chief Justice John Roberts responded, "It must give you pause that your analysis of a term 'drug-trafficking' offense ... leads to the conclusion that simple possession equates with drug trafficking."

In Lopez's case, an immigration judge and review panel as well as a federal appeals court all concluded that his crime should be considered an aggravated felony, which severely limits immigrants' ability to fight off deportation, be granted asylum or become naturalized U.S. citizens.

Lopez, a 16-year permanent U.S. resident, already has been deported to Mexico, but could return to his wife and two children, who are U.S. citizens, if the court rules in his favor, said Benita Jain, a staff attorney with the New York State Defenders Association.

Even then, Lopez still could face deportation, but an immigration judge would have discretion to allow him to remain in the United States.

Material from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.