Justices Critical of ‘Obscure’ Law for Green Card Holders

A number of Supreme Court justices seemed to share the view that the language of an immigration statute they considered at oral argument on Nov. 4 was lousy, but were divided over whether to make it easier for longtime green card holders with a criminal conviction to remain in the U.S.

At issue is whether to read broadly or narrowly the “stop-time rule,” which determines whether an immigrant has been in the country long enough to be eligible to avoid deportation.

The justices are considering what crimes can trigger the rule and stop time from accruing toward the seven-year residency ...