In the case of Lorenzo Arteaga v. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1997, Lorenzo Arteaga was a Mexican citizen who had been residing in the U.S. illegally since 1979. He was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to prison in 1988 but continued to live in America after his release until he left voluntarily in 1993. Upon attempting re-entry into the U.S., he was denied due to his previous conviction and deportation proceedings were initiated against him. Arteaga argued that he should be eligible for discretionary relief from deportation under Section 212(c) of Immigration and Nationality Act because at least seven years had passed between his admission as a lawful permanent resident (which occurred when he returned from a brief trip abroad) and commencement of deportation proceedings. The Supreme Court ruled against Arteaga stating that time spent unlawfully present before becoming an LPR cannot count towards satisfying this requirement; only those years lived legally can be considered toward eligibility for relief under section 212(c). The court held that allowing otherwise would reward illegal conduct by immigrants which is contrary to immigration law's purpose.

In the dissenting opinion for Lorenzo Arteaga v. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Justice Stevens argued that the majority's decision was based on a misinterpretation of immigration law and its application to Mr. Arteaga's case. He contended that under existing laws, an alien who has been convicted of an aggravated felony should not be automatically barred from seeking discretionary relief from deportation if they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances warranting such relief. In his view, this interpretation is more consistent with Congress' intent when it enacted these laws and would better serve justice by allowing each case to be evaluated individually rather than applying a blanket rule denying all aliens in similar situations any chance at obtaining relief regardless of their personal circumstances or contributions to society.