High court overturns decision to deport immigrant
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Mary Fuchs

The state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that legal immigrants must fully understand they will be forced to leave the country if they plead guilty to violent crimes or sexual abuse of a minor.

The court overturned a decision to deport Jose Nunez-Valdez of Camden, who claimed he did not realize deportation was one of the stipulations to pleading guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.

In the 6-1 decision, the justices said Nunez-Valdez received "false or misleading information about immigration consequences."

Legal immigrants who plead guilty to aggravated felonies _ a wide range of offenses, including theft and drug trafficking _ are deported under federal law.

Many attorneys don't realize this is a price their clients may pay, said Jeffrey S. Mandel, a lawyer for the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

"Prior to this case, there were plenty of very good criminal defense attorneys out there who were completely unaware of deportation consquences for guilty pleas," Mandel said.

In pleading guilty, Nunez-Valdez confessed to improperly touching his 17-year-old neighbor, by force and without her consent, in 1997. At the time, he was living with his wife and three children.

But during the appeal of his conviction, Nunez-Valdez said his trial lawyer, Troy Archie, had pressured him to confess to the crime.

Nunez-Valdez, who court documents say came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1980 when he was 18, was deported in 2004 as he continued to appeal.

His current lawyer, Justin Loughry, would not comment on his status now.

In its decision, the court ordered that legal forms be changed to make it clear those pleading guilty will be deported.

The current form asks noncitizens if they understand they "may" be deported by entering a guilty plea to an aggravated felony, though such removal is required by federal law. The court said the word "may" must be dropped from the question.


The majority's decision reversed a lower court's ruling that Nunez-Valdez knew full well he would be deported if he pleaded guilty.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto took issue with the majority's decision to change the plea form legal immigrants must fill out.

"Piling on more and more to an already burdened form is a poor substitute for increased understanding," wrote Rivera-Soto.

He also said his colleagues should not have acted at all until the U.S. Supreme Court decides a similar case.

Paula Grenier, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said there were 1,046 immigrants deported from New Jersey so far this year because of criminal offenses. There were 1,313 deported last year and 1,222 in 2007.

Statehouse Bureau reporter Mary Fuchs may be reached at mfuchs@starledger.com.


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