Understanding the Impact of the 1996 Deportation Laws and the Limited Scope of Proposed Reforms

In i996, Congress enacted two laws the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act1 (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act2 (IIRIRA) that drastically changed the consequences of criminal convictions for lawful permanent residents. Although lawful permanent residents had long been subject to deportation3 for criminal convictions, the i996 laws make such deportation mandatory in large classes of cases.4 Furthermore, the new laws provide that permanent residents convicted of a wide array of crimes are automatically placed in detention following the completion of any criminal sentence.' Much of the initial commentary on the i996 laws focused on the unfairness of applying these laws retroactively.6 The first cases to