Deportation is the action a government takes when it forces an alien (noncitizen) to leave the country and return to the place where he or she was born or lived before. A government may deport an alien because the person entered the country illegally, or because it is believed he or she may harm the nation’s interests.
In the United States, the attorney general has the power to deport aliens as part of his or her responsibility to enforce immigration laws. Aliens may be deported if they become public charges (dependent on government support), stay longer than their visas permit, or engage in activities that are criminal or subversive (destructive to the government). Naturalized citizens who lose their citizenship may be deported by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Deportation also means sending a convict to a penal colony (prisoner settlement) outside the country as punishment for a crime.
