Serve honorably, foreign-born service member, or risk deportation: determining whether a conviction under the UCMJ constitutes a deportable "crime involving moral turpitude" under the Immigration and Nationality Act

The Board failed to properly consider the severity of the maximum penalty for desertion when determining if this PMO is a CIMT... Because the Board erroneously presumed what the sole purpose was behind the maximum penalty for desertion, it failed to properly determine if this PMO is a CIMT... .93 I. INTRODUCTION About 60,000 lawful permanent resident aliens, commonly known as green card holders, currently serve in all branches of our armed forces.1 About 5,000 aliens join the military each year.2 Unlike United States citizens, they are subject to losing their resident status and being deported or removed3 from the United States if convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) as set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952, as amended.4 Aliens who naturalize pursuant to section 329 of the INA through active duty service during certain periods of military hostilities, including from September 11, 2001 to the present , may have their citizenship revoked and be deported from the United States if convicted of certain CIMTs resulting in an other than honorable separation before aggregating five years of honorable service.5 Essentially, a CIMT is an offense that consists of either a fraudulent act, or conduct which is inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general.6 To be deemed morally turpitudinous under the INA, a crime requires two essential elements: a culpable mental state and reprehensible conduct.7 Clear examples of...