SCOTUS Strikes Down Part of Law Requiring Deportation of Immigrant Felons

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a statute requiring the deportation of noncitizens who commit felonies is “unlawfully vague” on Tuesday, with Justice Neil Gorsuch siding with four liberal justices, according to Reuters. The case involved James Garcia Dimaya, a legal immigrant from the Philippines who was convicted of burglary in California. The Justice Department sought to deport him, claiming that his burglary was a “crime of violence.” A lower court ruled in 2015 that Dimaya’s deportation “created uncertainty over which crimes may be considered violent," and that decision was upheld by the Supreme Court. The case was originally heard in January 2017, before Gorsuch was sworn-in, and was decided in June when all the seats in the court had been filled.