Wouldn’t it be nice if Justin Bieber was never allowed to live inside the United States again?
It is possible that Bieber could be deported following his Thursday morning arrest for driving drunk, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license.
The 19-year-old Canadian pop singer — who is most likely living in the U.S. on an O-1B artist’s visa — could be kicked out of the country. An O visa is initially granted to an artist with “extraordinary talent” (which, in Bieber’s case, is debatable) for three years, but can be renewed every year with no limit on how many times it can be renewed.
While driving under the influence or a pattern of drug abuse can be grounds for deportation, it probably isn’t for teenage millionaires like Bieber.
Lynn Susser, an immigration attorney in Memphis, Tenn., told The Daily Caller that one misdemeanor like a DUI isn’t enough for deportation, and unless he was charged with something more than simple possession, he won’t get hit with a more serious drug penalty, either.
Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. told TheDC that even though we would all like to see Bieber kicked out of the country, it is unlikely that he will after his DUI arrest.
“He was high and he was drunk and he was drag racing at four in the morning with an expired license. The concept is that aliens guilty of moral of turpitude should be kicked out of the country,” he said.
But Krikorian points out that deportation is not a legal punishment, but an administrative one. Even if he is convicted of driving while drunk and high, it is up to immigration services — not a judge — to determine whether or not an alien lives up to the moral standards of our country.
Bieber has been in a few legal binds over the past couple of years. Most recently, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department raided his home following a vandalism incident. Police found cocaine at the home and arrested his roommate, but Bieber went unpunished.
“This guy seems to have a pattern of out-of-control behavior,” Krikorian said. “It seems to me that it’s just a matter of time before he actually does something that will get him deported.”
Until he goes and does something even more dumb and more illegal than before, there is a White House petition to “Deport Justin Bieber and revoke his green card.” If the petition gets over 98,000 more signatures by Feb. 22, President Obama will have to make the case to the American people for keeping Bieber in the country.
