IN 1996 the 104th Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA).

EXPEDITED REMOVAL: IIRAIRA created a new expedited removal process in effect at all U.S. ports of entry. Under this expedited process, persons attempting to enter the U.S. with fraudulent documents or no documents can be summarily removed from the U.S. by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspector at the port of entry. Additionally, persons who attempt to enter by “misrepresentation” also may be removed. The decision of the ICE inspector is reviewed by his or her supervisor, but IIRAIRA explicitly limits judicial review of the ICE decision to remove the applicant. In addition, a person subject to expedited removal can be barred from reentering the U.S. for a minimum of 5 years—and possibly permanently. Certain aliens who have committed an “aggravated felony” are also subject to removal in expedited administrative proceedings.

BARS TO ADMISSIBILITY: IIRAIRA created new bars to admissibility to the U.S. for people who have been unlawfully present in the U.S. for 6 months or longer. Under these new provisions, anyone who tries to enter the U.S. who has previously been in the country unlawfully for more than 180 days but less than 1 year will be barred from reentering the U.S. for 3 years. Anyone who is in the U.S. unlawfully for 1 year or more will be barred from reentering for 10 years. The period of unlawful presence in the U.S. only starts to count on and after April 1, 1997, the date of enactment of IIRAIRA. Only very limited and narrow waivers and exceptions to these bars to admissibility exist.

“212(c)” RELIEF: Prior to the passage of IIRAIRA, Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act previously provided for a form of relief from deportation for long term lawful permanent residents who had committed a crime. In order to be eligible to apply for “212(c)” relief, the applicant had to show that he or she had been a lawful permanent resident for at least 7 years, had served less than 5 years of a sentence if the underlying crime was classified as an “aggravated felony,” had been rehabilitated, and had no other criminal record. If the applicant was able to establish these factors, the immigration judge had the discretion to not deport the applicant. However, IIRAIRA completely bars anyone who has been convicted of an aggravated felony (as defined under IIRAIRA) from applying for this type of relief.