A country may have laws and policies to deport foreign nationals if they violate immigration law or commit a crime. In the United States, a person is usually deported (removed) from the country in a plane, car, train or bus at government expense. Deportation has many different meanings and a history as diverse as the countries from which they are being removed.
Generally, to be deported, you must have been placed into removal proceedings by ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement). ICE places people into these proceedings when they believe the non-citizen entered the country illegally or violated the terms of their visa or other status. The first step is a master hearing at which DHS has to prove that the person is deportable.
If the judge decides to deport them, an order of removal is issued. Typically, the person will be placed on an expedited removal docket, which can speed up the process. They will then be sent to their country of origin or other country with which the US has a treaty.
There are other ways to be deported, but these often require criminal convictions or other serious violations. A criminal conviction includes a felony, misdemeanor or other crime that involves moral turpitude, such as drug offenses, domestic violence, crimes against the government or weapons offenses.
The term “deportation” originally referred to banishing a political enemy or other criminal to another country for life, often an island. In later centuries, it came to mean a process of expelling a person from a country by order of the executive branch. It was often attended by confiscation of property and loss of citizenship and civil rights.
Today, the word deportation describes the removal of an immigrant from the United States by the executive branch. In many cases, people who are in the process of being deported can leave voluntarily at their own expense, an option known as voluntary departure. There are also a number of legal options available to those who have been ordered deported, such as appealing the decision or applying for asylum. It is important for individuals who are in removal proceedings to seek a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney as soon as possible. For those with children, a deportation can have long-term effects that can make it difficult or impossible to return. In addition, many people who are deported are barred from returning to the United States for a certain amount of time. In some instances, it can be years before a deportee is allowed back into the country.