Immigration Actions Related to Criminal Offenses

A person that is a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), also called a green card holder, needs to be extremely careful how a criminal case is handled. The wrong outcome can get him deported even if he has been in the country for many years. If the person is an illegal alien, it could get him deported or ruin his chances of getting in a program like the DACA (deferred action against childhood arrivals), or ruin his chances of obtaining a change in his status to make him legal. There are other possible detrimental consequences a conviction or even a non-conviction outcome may have on his immigration status. It is extremely important if a person is not a United States Citizen that he talk with a competent immigration attorney. Although my firm is very knowledgeable of the consequences of a criminal conviction on someone that is not a U.S. citizen, we will insist that the defendant also communicate with a competent immigration attorney to advise him on the immigration aspect of the case. We also will interact with that attorney with the client's approval to ensure we are all on the same page.

Cancellation of Removal

This is basically a hearing to attempt to cancel the removal of a person that has been ordered deported by an immigration judge. In certain cases, this can be successful. If an aggravated felony is involved it will most likely not be possible to achieve this. There is usually no relief if a person has a conviction for this type offense. If you have been ordered removed or deported, call us at 972-722-0887 or text us at 972-814-7318 to setup a free phone consultation to discuss possible relief you may be eligible for.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

In the event you have been convicted or put on probation for a criminal offense and it is one that caused you to be ordered removed or deported, it may be possible, in some situations, if the attorney that handled the case did not do an effective job, to get the case back to the starting point. For example, you took a plea bargain deal and, if the defense attorney did not adequately explain the immigration consequences to you, it may be possible to do a writ of habeas corpus and, if successful, you would be back to square one and may be able to work out a deal that would not cause any immigration consequences. Or you may want to take the case to trial. There is an important case that is several years old now that imposes a responsibility on defense attorneys to be sufficiently knowledgeable of immigration law to be able to explain the immigration consequences. If he did not, there may be a justification for doing the writ of habeas corpus. The case is Padilla v. Kentucky. Your defense attorney should be very familiar with that case. Call us at 972-722-0887 or text us at 972-814-7318 to setup a free phone consultation. A Spanish speaking person is on staff that can discuss your situation with you.