Simple assault under Texas law has recently been held to not constitute a crime involving moral turpitude. However, more serious forms of assault may constitute crimes involving moral turpitude or may be considered aggravated felony crimes of violence.

Generally if an undocumented individual is arrested for DWI, that is the easiest way Immigration and Customs Enforcement will become aware of the person’s undocumented status and commence removal proceedings against the individual. DWIs carry strict consequences in that if one is undocumented or in many times on a valid visa, the DWI will place the individual in deportation proceedings. Usually ICE will use the DWI arrest or conviction as reasoning for denying issuing an immigration bond to the individual.

Drug possession acts like the kiss of death in immigration; if the person is undocumented typically a drug possession conviction makes them permanently ineligible for any type of immigration relief before an immigration judge outside of withholding of removal. If the person has a green card, a drug possession conviction will typically make that legal resident deportable unless the drug possession conviction was no more than one possession of marijuana conviction for which the amount of marijuana was less than 30 grams. However, if a legal permanent resident has a drug possession conviction involving possession of marijuana less than 30 grams and the resident travels internationally and seeks reentry to the United States, that resident would be deemed inadmissible to the United States.

Generally crimes involving theft and fraud tend to involve what is called “moral turpitude.” Crimes involving moral turpitude are a ground of inadmissibility to the United States and deportability.