# Fair Adjudications for Immigrants Act

This bill changes how the immigration system treats people with criminal records. Right now, immigration law counts almost any criminal conviction against someone, even if that conviction was later dismissed, erased from their record, or handled leniently by a judge. This bill narrows what counts as a "conviction" for immigration purposes, giving immigrants a better chance to stay in the country despite past legal troubles.

The main change is that certain types of criminal cases would no longer count against immigrants in deportation proceedings. If a conviction was expunged (erased from your record), dismissed, or pardoned—whether by a president, governor, or local official—immigration authorities couldn't use it against you. The same goes for cases where a judge ordered probation without formally entering a guilty judgment, or where a judge specifically recommended that you not be deported. Additionally, if you're still appealing your conviction, it wouldn't count yet. The bill also clarifies that only the actual time you served in prison counts, not suspended sentences that were never enforced.

The bill also gives judges a new tool: if a sentencing judge believes an immigrant shouldn't be deported for their crime, they can issue a formal recommendation against removal. Immigration authorities would then have to seriously consider that judicial recommendation. This recognizes that judges who know the full details of a case—the person's background, the circumstances, their rehabilitation—are often in the best position to decide whether deportation is fair.

This bill would apply to everyone, including people convicted years ago, giving them a chance to challenge old convictions that might have been handled differently under these new rules. The practical effect is that immigrants with minor offenses, dismissed cases, or lenient sentences would have better protection against being deported.

Fair Adjudications for Immigrants Act

Espaillat, Adriano

Fair Adjudications for Immigrants Act This bill narrows the scope of certain crime-based grounds for barring or removing an alien from the United States. (Generally, a conviction for certain crimes, such as a crime that carries a term of incarceration of a certain length, may constitute grounds for denying an individual certain immigration benefits.) The bill redefines the term conviction to exclude convictions that have been dismissed, expunged, deferred, annulled, invalidated, withheld, vacated, or pardoned. The term must also exclude adjudications where a court issued a recommendation against removal, an order of probation without entry of judgment, or a similar disposition. In addition, any reference to a term of imprisonment or sentence must, unless otherwise provided (1) only consider the period of incarceration ordered by a court, and (2) exclude any suspended portion of a sentence. Currently, for immigration purposes, a term of incarceration includes any part of the sentence that was suspended. These provisions pertaining to the definition of conviction and terms of imprisonment shall apply to convictions and judgments entered either before or after this bill's enactment. Furthermore, certain crime-based grounds for barring or removing an alien shall not apply if the sentencing court issues a recommendation that the alien not be removed on the basis of the conviction.