NEWARK — More than half the nearly 410,000 people deported from the United States last year were booted out because of a criminal conviction.

Now, the husband of "Real Housewives" star Teresa Giudice faces the real possibility of being one of them.

Prosecutors in the sweeping mortgage, tax and bankruptcy fraud case against the reality TV show couple told a federal judge in Newark Tuesday that Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice was not a citizen of the U.S. — but of Italy. If convicted, that could lead to a one-way ticket out of the country, even after any possible prison sentence.

"He’s facing big challenges," said immigration law expert Michael Wildes of New York, a former federal prosecutor. "They should be looking for an immigration lawyer before hiring a criminal lawyer."

A criminal conviction of an immigrant — even one living legally in the country as in the case of Joe Giudice — carries with it the threat of deportation.

His attorney, Miles Feinstein, said Giudice was in a "sticky situation," confirming he was not a U.S. citizen.

"He came over here when he was one year old. His family was living the American dream. He came over here so young. He never anticipated anything like this," Feinstein said.

Under the law, legal permanent residents face possible "removal proceedings" if convicted either of a crime immigration authorities consider an aggravated felony or a crime of moral turpitude — usually after they complete their prison or jail terms.

It is a fate all criminal defendants are now warned about in court.

"It comes down to this: If you are a citizen, you can murder someone and be convicted and the government can’t deport you," said immigration lawyer Daniel L. Weiss of Freehold. "But if you are here as a permanent resident, or on a less than permanent basis, such as a visa, you are here as a privilege. And if you are convicted of a crime, you endanger that."

Criminal convictions accounted for the majority of deportation proceedings in this country last year. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 225,390 people were forced to leave in fiscal year 2012 because of criminal convictions — far more than immigration fugitives or those caught illegally crossing the border.

Deportation, though, is by no means automatic.

The specter of deportation hung over Dharun Ravi throughout the trial last year of the former Rutgers freshman charged with spying via webcam of a sexual encounter involving his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi, who later committed suicide. Ravi was born in India and lived there until age 5, when his family moved to New Jersey and a criminal conviction exposed him to possible deportation.

While Ravi was not charged with causing Clementi’s death, he was convicted of multiple second-degree bias and invasion of privacy counts. Facing 10 years in prison, he was ultimately sentenced to 30 days in the county jail. After his release, federal authorities declined to initiate removal proceedings against him.

However, fraud charges can carry very serious immigration consequences, said Farrin Anello, a visiting assistant clinical professor at the Immigrant’s Rights/International Human Rights Clinic at Seton Hall Law School.

"If you commit a crime that qualifies for an aggravated felony, that has the most serious immigration consequences of all, and make it very hard, if not impossible, to get any relief from deportation," she said.

Realty TV star Joe Giudice, leaving the federal courthouse in Newark with his wife Teresa, faces possible deportation if convicted in the case charging the "Real Housewives" couple with bank and tax fraud.

In Giudice’s case, the amount of the alleged tax fraud alone is nearly $1 million. That is more than enough to reach the threshold of an aggravated felony, Wildes said.

"And fraud is clearly a crime of moral turpitude," he said.

Harlan York of Newark, former immigration chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association, said what might happen to Giudice should he be convicted is too complex to speculate, and will depend on the nature of the court proceedings.

"Any federal white collar offense like this takes a while to play out," he said.

RELATED COVERAGE

• 'Real Housewives' Teresa and Joe Giudice each released on $500K bond

• 'Real Housewives' stars indicted on dozens of fraud counts



• Dharun Ravi won't be deported, U.S. immigration authorities said

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