Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

In Lujan-Armendarez v. INS, the Ninth Circuit overturned Roldan on equal protection grounds, holding that the new IIRAIRA definition of conviction did not invalidate the Federal First Offender Act (FFOA), and that state expungements therefore continue to eliminate all immigration consequences of convictions of first offense simple possession of controlled substances where the defendant would have been eligible for FFOA treatment if prosecuted in federal court.[15]

            The FFOA[16] is an alternative sentencing statute that applies after a defendant has been “found guilty of an offense described in section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844) . . . .”  Thus, it applies after a jury or court verdict of guilty, or after a guilty plea has been entered, to a listed offense.

[15] Lujan-Armendariz v. INS, 222 F.3d 728 (9th Cir. 2000).

[16] 18 U.S.C. § 3607.