Justin Bieber Faces Possible Deportation for Egging Crimes

A felony crime is a deportable offense? Eggsactly.

By Julianne Hing Jan 15, 2014

It doesn’t take much to become deportable. Just ask Justin Bieber. The pop star, who’s facing felony charges for allegedly egging his neighbor’s Calabasas, Calif., mansion to the tune of $20,000 in damage, could face deportation if convicted. The damage from Bieber’s alleged vandalism exceeded $400, which makes it a felony–and felony convictions become deportable offenses, Fox News reported.

Of course a decent attorney, which Bieber can certainly afford, will try to get his charges dropped or lowered to a misdemeanor. Bieber also happens to live in California, which limits immigration enforcement’s involvement with the criminal justice system thanks to the TRUST Act, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed in October. The law should limit the numbers of those who are swept into deportation proceedings as a result of a brush with the law.

But it’s worth keeping in mind that non-citizen U.S. residents have been deported for much less than what Bieber’s being accused of here. Getting caught with a blunt, peeing in public, accidentally identifying oneself as a citizen instead of a permanent resident–these are the kinds of extremely minor infractions which the U.S. has used as catalysts to deport hundreds of thousands of non-citizens and undocumented immigrants every year. In fact, the vast majority of those the U.S. has deported in recent years have no criminal record, and among those who were deported for committing a crime, the vast majority of those convictions were for non-violent offenses. So good luck, Bieber!

(h/t @prernaplal)