ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Boika v. Holder

Boika v. Holder is a legal case that's all about whether or not someone who enters the United States as a child can stay in the country legally even if they've been convicted of a crime.

Let's imagine this situation: Imagine you're a kid and you move to the United States with your family. You go to school and make friends, and you feel like you're a part of the community. Then when you get a little older, maybe in your late teens or early twenties, you make a bad decision and get in trouble with the law. Maybe you get caught with drugs, or get into a fight, or do something else that's against the law.

Now imagine you get caught by the government and they tell you that you might have to leave the United States because of what you did. This is a really scary and sad situation, because you've grown up in the United States and it's the only home you know. But the government says that because you broke the law, you can't stay in the country.

That's what happened in the Boika v. Holder case. Mr. Boika had entered the United States when he was a young boy, and he'd lived here for most of his life. But then he got into trouble with the law, and the government wanted to deport him back to his home country. Mr. Boika argued that he should be allowed to stay in the United States, even though he had broken the law, because he had grown up here and had established a life here.

This case became important because it raised questions about what it means to be an American and what it takes to be able to stay in the United States. The court decided that Mr. Boika and others like him should be able to stay in the country if they have grown up in the United States and have established a life here, even if they have been convicted of a crime. This decision was important because it recognized that people who have lived in the United States for most of their lives should be given a chance to stay here, even if they've made a mistake.