A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a minor New Jersey offense is still a criminal conviction under U.S. immigration law, upholding a deportation order for a longtime resident.
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit centers on Kwok Sum Wong, a native of Hong Kong and Chinese citizen who has lived in the United States as a permanent resident since 1979.
The federal government moved to deport Wong in 2011 after he picked up two separate state convictions: a 2005 New Jersey charge for theft by deception and a 2006 New York conviction for second-degree forgery.
Immigration officials classified both as “crimes involving moral turpitude.” Under federal law, two such crimes can trigger mandatory deportation.
Wong challenged the deportation, arguing that his New Jersey case was only a “disorderly persons offense”—a minor infraction under New Jersey law that resulted in just a $200 fine and was not classified as an official state “crime.” Because of that, he argued, it should not count as a formal federal conviction.
The dispute reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which sent the case back down for a closer review after a major 2024 ruling changed how federal courts interpret agency rules. Rather than simply deferring to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the judges had to examine the text of the law directly.
The three-judge panel ultimately concluded that the label a state puts on an offense does not change how federal immigration law applies. Judge Richard J. Sullivan explained that Wong’s case involved all the basic constitutional safeguards of a criminal trial—such as the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the right to confront witnesses—and carried a potential jail sentence of up to six months.
“By pleading guilty to the disorderly persons offense in question, Wong was both provided the minimum constitutional protections required for a criminal offense and subjected to criminal punishment,” Judge Sullivan wrote. “We therefore conclude that Wong was ‘convicted’ within the meaning of section 1101(a)(48)(A) and DENY his petition for review.”
The court noted that U.S. immigration laws must apply uniformly nationwide, meaning a person’s deportation status cannot depend on how individual states choose to name or classify low-level violations.
READ: 12-Year Pasco Sheriff’s Deputy Dies By Suicide At Land O’ Lakes Facility
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
