Deportation for Obstruction of Justice

The federal immigration law states that non-citizens can be deported for aggravated felony charges including charges, “relating to obstruction of justice.” The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision, in Pugin v. Garland, that obstruction of justice applies even if it “prevents an investigation or proceeding from commencing in the first place.” Whereas, previously, obstruction of justice had been applied in cases involving ongoing investigations or proceedings. Some of the dissenting justices think that this is a slippery slope and the government will argue that more and more crimes can be categorized as deportable offenses.