The Eleventh Circuit has determined that a burglary conviction accompanied by a sentence of one year of house arrest qualifies as an aggravated felony.  The court noted that "[a] term of imprisonment . . . includes the period of incarceration or confinement ordered by a court of law regardless of any suspension of the imposition or execution of that imprisonment or sentence in whole or in part."  Under section 101(a)(48)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a term of imprisonment includes “all parts of a sentence of imprisonment from which the sentencing court excuses the defendant, even if the court itself follows state-law usage and describes the excuse with a word other than ‘suspend.’”  Because house arrest is a form of confinement, the Board of Immigration Appeals reasonably determined that house arrest is a “term of imprisonment” under section 101(a)(48)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  

The full text of Herrera v. Attorney General can be found here: http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201512093.pdf

Comment