职业发展
CLE Class Provides Overview of Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions
2023年9月22日
从事移民法的靠谱的滚球平台, as well as those involved in the defense of noncitizens accused of crimes, must contend with the significant immigration consequences of certain pleas and 信念. 在刑事辩护和移民实践中, 理解如何收费, 信念, and pleas impact an individual’s immigration status can mean the difference between a client’s successful retention of lawful status and their removal from the country.
在最近的一次会议上.C. 酒吧CLE课程，奥菲利亚L. Calderón, founding partner at Calderón Seguin PLC, and Himedes V. Chicas, lead attorney and head of the immigration department at Jezic & 莫伊斯有限责任公司，给了一个全面的概述美国.S. Department of Homeland Security’s current enforcement priorities respective to noncitizens and the immigration consequences of particular criminal acts and 信念.
Calderón discussed an attorney’s obligations in criminal and immigration proceedings, the elements establishing a conviction for immigration purposes, and the crimes that can result in a noncitizen’s deportation or ineligibility for certain forms of relief, 涉及某些罪行在区, 马里兰, 弗吉尼亚法律.
她指了指美国.S. 最高法院的判决 帕迪拉五世. 肯塔基州, which acknowledged the potentially significant consequences of a criminal conviction on an individual’s immigration status and remains a stern reminder of the responsibilities of both criminal and immigration attorneys. The failure to assess a client’s potential immigration status and the consequences of a conviction are, 下 帕迪拉靠谱的滚球平台的无效协助.
“刑事辩护靠谱的滚球平台不能就这么说, ‘I didn’t know’ [in reference to a client’s immigration status], so they have an affirmative obligation to really ask these questions,Calderón说.
帕迪拉 requires criminal defense counsel to ascertain their client’s immigration status, determine the potential immigration consequences of charges, and accurately inform the client about these consequences and any alternative options such as plea or trial.
Chicas stressed that a case-specific analysis should be carefully conducted. “这不是放之四海而皆准的建议. 你需要知道这个人的身份, 他们的移民历史, their criminal history; there’s so much you need to know. Don’t wait to do this analysis the morning of the court date,” he said. “一定要提前把工作做好.”
在现行的移民制度下, certain dispositions without a formal judgment of guilt nevertheless qualify as criminal 信念 for immigration purposes. 例如, if the accused entered a plea of guilt or nolo contendere or admitted to facts sufficient to find guilt, 法官下令施以某种形式的惩罚, 点球, 或者对自由的限制, immigration officials will treat the outcome as a conviction. 与此形成鲜明对比的是, pre-plea diversion arrangements may not be considered a conviction because, 程序的, 没有承认或认定有罪.
Central to the analysis are two classes of crimes: crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) and aggravated felonies. CIMTs have been created through case law and applies to criminal 信念 where the 下lying offenses are inherently base, 卑鄙的, 或者堕落. Aggravated felonies are listed in the Immigration and Naturalization Act and include 信念 for fraud over $10,000, 对未成年人的性虐待, 因盗窃被判一年或一年以上监禁, 入室盗窃, 或者暴力犯罪. Both classes of 信念 carry significant immigration consequences.
Calderón and Chivas pointed out the nebulous nature of CIMT. “(这个定义)非常没有帮助，”Calderón说. “我认为你不应该偷东西, but I don’t think taking a pair of sunglasses from Ross qualifies as inherently base or 卑鄙的.”
芝华士同意, 声明, “One thing that case law has recognized is that these things change over the years. What was considered a CIMT when it was analyzed by the 董事会 of Immigration Appeals (BIA) back in the day might not be a CIMT today.”
But immigration threats are not confined to these two categories of offenses. Certain kinds of immigration status carry unique criminal bars. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extends protections to nationals of countries in crisis, but that status can be revoked if the holder is convicted of two misdemeanors, 一个重罪, 或者是可以被驱逐出境的罪行.
“Dreamers” 下 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) can lose their status as the result of a felony, 三次轻罪定罪, or a single “significant misdemeanor” such as domestic violence, 入室盗窃, 在药物或酒精的影响下驾驶, 或非法持有或使用枪支. 因为DACA和TPS都是自由裁量的, 签证持有者的身份可能会被撤销, 即使没有定罪.
Calderón summed up the difficulty of 下standing the intersectionality of criminal and immigration law by noting four factors: the different types of immigration status, 不可接受的理由和递解出境的理由, the changing landscape of case law with increased federal legislation, and different possibilities for relief with varying requirements and statutory bars. 她说:“移民人数已经被强制增加. “The original statute was written in ’52 … There have only been amendments that sometimes are in contradiction with the others.”
