Yes, that is correct. The title is a hybrid term combining the words “deportation” and “ordinance.” Although the term “deportation” has been subsumed under the term “removal,” for the immigration practitioner they are basically interchangeable. Deportation is the formal removal of an alien from the United States when the alien has been found legally eligible for removal for violating the immigration laws. Prior to April 1997, deportation and exclusion were separate removal procedures. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 consolidated these procedures. After April 1, 1997, aliens in and admitted to the United States may be subject to removal based on deportability. Now called removal, this function is managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Here is where the bad advice comes in. I can hear municipal court practitioners scoffing at the seemingly ludicrous idea that an ordinance violation can affect immigration status. “No one was ever deported because he pled guilty to an ordinance!” Well, the sad truth is that both ordinances and other municipal court petty violations, such as disorderly persons’ offenses, can trigger the removal of your client from the United States.
