Criminal Charges and Immigration Consequences

Even though a criminal conviction can have grave consequences on one's immigration rank, neither criminal defense attorneys, nor judges, have a legal obligation to inform a criminal defendant of the immigration penalty of a appeal agreement or conviction. This is because immigration consequences are guarantee cost to the criminal case, rather than direct.

"It is significant for defendants to know how criminal charges and convictions may impact their immigration rank."

The federal government has newly executed many raids upon meat packing plants, poultry companies, restaurants, and other industries that use alleged illegal aliens. The difference this time around is that the government is not only in search for deportation of these individuals, but federal criminal charges as well. A conviction of this kind can result in a criminal sentence of several years in prison.

"The government is pursuing federal offenses of identity theft, Social Security fraud and document fraud, all if which are felonies."

Identity theft, Social Security fraud and document fraud are all crimes for which, if convicted, an alien may be exiled. Criminal convictions may lead to banishment if, the crime is deemed one of ethical turpitude or if it is deemed an motivated crime conviction. Crimes of ethical turpitude contain, among many other crimes, mail scam, counterfeiting, false and fake statements. An forced felony may be deception or deceit offenses, alien smuggling, obstruction of justice and lying under oath. Also, aliens convicted of provoked crimes are also subject to special, expedited removal trials with minimal due process protections, cannot receive bail or bond when detained by immigration officers, have almost no means of appealing, and are barred for life from applying for a US Visa or admissions of any kind to the US

How could these charges impact your immigration rank?

Most felony convictions, whether in state or federal court, fall under the immigration code's definition of aggravated felonies. A conviction of these felonies could result in taking away, deportation, or exclusion. An alien who is convicted, removed/deported/excluded from the US, and who is then enters the United States illegally can be prosecuted and face a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years.

What can you do if you, or someone you know, are facing federal criminal charges?

If you or someone you know is facing criminal charges, get hold of a criminal defense attorney who is either familiar with the immigration laws or works closely with an immigration attorney to offer sound guidance connected to the penalty of charges and convictions. While no US Immigration attorney can assure victory, if you get an attorney involved at the beginning of the case, your probability of victory increases greatly.