James Barbour
James Barbour, a Broadway actor who played the Beast in Beauty of the Beast pled guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, presumably Section 260.10 of the New York State Penal Law. Mr. Barbour was originally charged with sexual abuse of a minor. Had Mr. Barbour pled guilty to a sexual abuse charge, he would have been deportable without a means of relief, as sexual abuse of a minor is an aggravated felony, INA § 101(a)(43)(A), not allowing for the usual relief from removal called Cancellation of Removal. His actual conviction, for endangering the welfare of a child, is also a deportable offense under INA § 237(a)(2)(E)(i), which renders deportable, “Any alien who at any time after admission is convicted of a crime of domestic violence, a crime of stalking, or a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment….” This ground of inadmissibility can be forgiven through Cancellation of Removal. Mr. Barbour was also compelled to admit to two episodes of sexual misconduct which would likely also render him inadmissible for morally turpitudinous behavior.