The Supreme Court has held that the government need not have clear and convincing evidence at the border that a returning lawful permanent resident committed a crime involving moral turpitude before treating him as seeking admission under 8 USC 1101(a)(13)(C)(v). The respondent, a lawful permanent resident, temporarily traveled abroad while a New Jersey trademark-counterfeiting charge was pending and was paroled into the United States on return.

The Court held that the government’s burden is satisfied in the later removal proceedings, not necessarily at the port of entry. The respondent’s later guilty plea supplied the necessary proof that he had committed the offense for purposes of the admission classification. The Court vacated the Second Circuit’s decision and remanded, leaving unresolved whether the trademark-counterfeiting conviction is a CIMT.

The full text of Blanche v. Lau can be found here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-429_h3ci.pdf

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