• Any non-citizen found to be in the United States in violation of U.S. immigration code can be deported. Other non-citizens may also be deported under certain circumstances. While immigration law and immigration legal proceedings exist in their own unique jurisdiction outside of civil law, those going through the deportation process do have rights; immigration courts must also follow certain protocols.
  
  

Who is Subject

• Under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, both enacted in 1996, deportation rates in the U.S. have risen drastically. These two laws widened the threshold for who may be deported to include legal alien residents who have committed serious offenses (such as murder and assault), undocumented aliens, and permanent residents and naturalized citizens who have committed relatively minor offenses such as driving while intoxicated or shoplifting.
  
  

Incarceration

• Alien residents convicted of crimes in the U.S. must serve a stint in jail or prison prior to deportation; so too must other non-criminal aliens who have committed the crime of being in the country without having obtained or carrying proper alien registration. Under the Alien Registration Act of 1940, every alien must be fingerprinted and obtain registration upon entering the country. If a resident alien (18 years of age or more) does not carry this registration certificate on their person, he may be convicted of a misdemeanor offense, fined $100, jailed for 30 days and possibly deported. If an immigrant without documents is found to have never obtained the proper registration, then she is guilty of the misdemeanor offense of "willful failure to register," and may be fined up to $1,000 and incarcerated for up to six months prior to deportation.
  
  

Deportation Proceedings

• An individual facing deportation is entitled to a removal hearing in federal immigration court, which determines whether he is to be deported or can remain in the country. The court considers issues including, but not limited to, the nature and severity of the deportation offense, the alien's immigration status and whether she is eligible for relief from deportation. During this hearing process, an immigration judge may set a bond for any alien facing deportation if the alien is a Department of Homeland Security prisoner in an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Bureau of Prisons or U.S. Marshals Service facility. Potential deportees are entitled to legal counsel.