Which criminal convictions make a green card holder deportable under immigration law?
Executive summary
Green-card holders can be deported for a set of criminal convictions grouped mainly as aggravated felonies, drug offenses, crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs), certain domestic-violence and firearms offenses, and fraud or immigration-related crimes under INA §237 (codified at 8 U.S.C. §1227) [1] [2]. Some rules are timing-dependent — for example, a single CIMT within five years of admission or with a sentence of one year or more can trigger deportability, while two CIMTs not arising from the same scheme make an LPR deportable regardless of time since admission [3] [4].
1. Deportability is statutory — start with INA / 8 U.S.C. §1227
The baseline law listing deportable offenses is 8 U.S.C. §1227, which enumerates categories of criminal and other conduct that make an alien removable; the statute is the authoritative source for who “may be deportable” [1]. Legal guides and law firms summarize the statute into familiar categories — aggravated felonies, drug crimes, CIMTs, firearms and domestic-violence offenses, fraud, smuggling and national-security grounds — but the statutory text is the primary legal hook [1] [2].
2. Aggravated felonies: the single most lethal category for LPRs
Aggravated felonies are a sweeping list of offenses that have especially severe immigration consequences; if an LPR is convicted of an aggravated felony, deportation and permanent bar to certain relief follow. Multiple practice-oriented sources emphasize aggravated felonies as a principal reason green-card holders are removed [2] [5]. Aggravated-felony status often depends on the offense element and sentence length, and classification disputes are common in immigration courts (sources summarize; statutory specifics are in INA/agency guidance) [2].
3. Crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs): timing and repetition matter
CIMTs are not defined precisely in statute, which produces case-by-case litigation. Immigration guides repeatedly state that a single CIMT can lead to deportation if it occurred within five years after admission and the conviction carries the possibility of one year’s imprisonment; two CIMTs not arising from the same scheme make an LPR deportable regardless of when they occurred [3] [4] [6]. Practical consequence: attorneys and courts litigate whether a state offense is a CIMT and whether multiple convictions are part of the “same scheme.” Guidance and examples differ across legal commentary [3] [6].
4. Drug and firearm offenses — clear statutory triggers
Certain drug convictions and firearm offenses are explicitly deportable under the INA text and summarized in practice guides. The statute and legal guides single out drug trafficking and many drug convictions, as well as convictions for possessing, using, or trafficking firearms or destructive devices, as deportable offenses for LPRs [1] [2]. Immigration-adjacent law firms stress that drug-related convictions remain among the most frequent grounds for removal [2].
5. Domestic violence, sexual abuse and crimes against children
Convictions for domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, sexual abuse, or crimes involving moral turpitude related to those harms frequently appear in practitioner lists of deportable offenses; practitioners caution that these convictions can be treated specially under INA provisions [2] [6]. Immigration sources emphasize the practical reality that these cases are aggressively pursued by enforcement authorities [2].
6. Fraud, marriage fraud, smuggling and immigration offenses
Fraud in obtaining immigration benefits (including marriage fraud or procuring a visa by fraud) and alien-smuggling convictions are explicitly deportable under the statute, and multiple practice articles highlight these grounds as common triggers for removal [1] [2] [7]. These aren’t merely criminal matters but go to the core of immigration status and can prompt rescission or removal years later if discovered [1] [8].
7. Procedural hooks, waivers and political change
Sources note that some deportable grounds carry statutory waivers (for instance, INA §212(h) in limited circumstances) and that eligibility for relief can depend on continuous lawful residence, absence of aggravated-felony convictions, and other strict criteria [3]. Commentators also report that policy and proposed legislation — such as 2025-era rule changes and later bills to expand deportability to DUIs — can alter enforcement risk even if the statute remains unchanged, so the enforcement landscape is dynamic [9] [10].
8. How practitioners summarize risk — practical takeaways
Law firms and legal guides uniformly warn that many offenses that might look “minor” in criminal court can have major immigration consequences; examples cited across sources include burglary, theft, DUI, domestic-violence and certain misdemeanors when paired with sentence thresholds or timing rules [11] [4]. They stress consultation with both criminal and immigration counsel before plea deals or admissions [11] [2].
Limitations and where sources are silent
- Available sources do not mention an exhaustive, line-by-line list of every deportable state offense; they summarize statutory categories and recurring examples rather than catalog every possible state conviction (not found in current reporting).
- For definitive classification of any particular conviction, sources point to statutory text and case law; practitioner sites urge case-specific legal advice [1] [2].
Bottom line: statute (8 U.S.C. §1227) sets the deportable categories; practitioners and legal guides translate those categories into the aggravating groupings you’ll see in practice — aggravated felonies, drug and firearm offenses, CIMTs (with timing rules), domestic-violence/sexual-abuse crimes, fraud and immigration-related crimes — and enforcement policy and proposed laws can change how strictly those grounds are applied [1] [2] [3] [9].