HIGH COURT TO CLARIFY NEW DEPORTATION LAWS

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to clarify new federal
laws that aim to speed the deportation of immigrants convicted of
committing crimes in this country.

Accepting two separate cases, the justices agreed to decide whether
Congress actually went as far as the Clinton administration argues it did
in stripping federal judges of the power to review deportation orders.

Beyond that jurisdictional question, the court also agreed to decide the
retroactive effect of the provision making immigrants who have committed
certain crimes categorically ineligible for relief from automatic deportation.

The order granting the two cases means that the long-awaited Supreme Court
test of the actions Congress took at the height of anti-immigrant fervor in
1996 has finally arrived.

The cases will be argued in April.

The court had previously turned down a number of cases that dealt with
special rules for the phasing in of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. The new cases concern the law's
permanent provisions.

Despite the law's name, its impact has been not primarily on illegal
immigrants, but on lawful permanent residents of the United States who at
some time in the past ran afoul of the criminal law.

Before the 1996 law took effect, noncitizens who committed drug offenses or
other serious crimes were deportable, but unless they had actually served
at least five years in prison, they retained the right to apply for a
"discretionary waiver of deportation."

This form of administrative relief was granted about half the time, usually
to those who showed evidence of rehabilitation, who had spouses or children
who were U.S. citizens, or because of other personal circumstances. If the
waiver was denied, an immigrant could appeal to a federal appeals court.