Crimmigration

Texas Crimmigration Lawyer

If you are not a citizen of the United States, have legal immigration status of any type, or no legal status at all, and you’ve been arrested for a criminal offense, you are subject to more than just possible incarceration. Whether you are a legal permanent resident (green card holder), an immigration visa holder of any type, or are in this country with no legal status, even the best resolution of your criminal case can result in your deportation from this country. Many who are arrested for criminal offenses and are not citizens have resided in this country long enough to have established strong family, employment and community ties. If you are arrested for a criminal offense, you need to consult with a lawyer who understands that your representation is not limited to the proper resolution of your criminal case, but that it also requires a thorough review of the immigration consequences that may result from the resolution of your criminal matter.

I am that lawyer.

In 2006, I helped pioneer the field of what is now known as “crimmigration,” when I took on Mr. Santos-Sanchez’ legal representation in federal court. I challenged his plea as involuntary, on the basis that his lawyer gave him faulty advise about the immigration consequences of his plea in a criminal case. Jesus had received probation for that charge, but was later ordered deported after his conviction was discovered by immigration authorities. I challenged his conviction via coram nobis petition in the district court, appealed the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and when that court denied relief, I took Jesus’ case to the United States Supreme Court. Jesus’ case coincided with that of Jose Padilla, from the State of Kentucky, whose case was accepted by the Supreme Court, and his conviction reversed in the landmark case, Padilla v. Kentucky, in 2010. One week after the opinion, the Supreme Court reversed Jesus’ case, and overruled long-standing precedent by the Fifth Circuit that did not require a lawyer to advise their non-citizen client of the immigration consequences of their plea of guilty to a criminal offense. Since then I have successfully represented many non-citizens either 1. design a criminal resolution of their case after their arrest, and/or 2. challenge and overturn their convictions, to prevent, or at least minimize their risk of deportation. It has been extremely satisfying to help prevent the deportation of productive members of our communities, and the separation from their families, who but for a rare misstep judgment, risk being banished to a country that many do not even called home.

If you are a non-citizen, and have been arrested for, or been previously convicted of a crime, call me.

I will fight for you.

If you are in need of legal assistance please contact us