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Criminal Charges & Immigration Consequences

Even though a criminal conviction can have grave consequences on one’s immigration status, neither criminal defense attorneys, nor judges, have a legal obligation to advise a criminal defendant of the immigration consequences of a plea agreement or conviction. This is because immigration consequences are a collateral consequence to the criminal case, rather than direct.

It is important for defendants to know how criminal charges and convictions may impact their immigration status.

The federal government has recently executed numerous raids upon meat packing plants, poultry companies, restaurants, and other industries that employ alleged illegal aliens. The difference this time around is that the government is not only seeking deportation of these individuals, but federal criminal charges as well.

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

How could these charges impact your immigration status? Most felony convictions, whether in state or federal court, fall under the immigration code definition of aggravated felonies. A conviction of these felonies could result in removal, deportation, or exclusion. An alien who is convicted, is removed/deported/excluded from the United States, and who is then apprehended while or after new illegal entry will be prosecuted and face a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Identity theft, Social Security fraud and document fraud are all crimes for which, if convicted, an alien may be deported. Criminal convictions may lead to deportation if, the crime is deemed one of moral turpitude or if it is deemed an aggravated felony conviction. Crimes of moral turpitude include, among many other crimes, mail fraud, counterfeiting, forgery and false statements. An aggravated felony may be fraud or deceit offenses, alien smuggling, obstruction of justice and perjury. Furthermore, aliens convicted of aggravated felonies are also subject to special, expedited removal proceedings with minimal due process protections, cannot receive bail or bond when arrested by immigration officials, have almost no means of appealing, and are barred for life from applying for admissions to the United States.

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

If you or someone you know is facing criminal charges, contact a criminal defense attorney who is either familiar with the immigration laws or works closely with an immigration attorney to provide sound advice related to the consequences of charges and convictions. While no attorney can guarantee success, if you get an attorney involved at the beginning of the case, your likelihood of success increases greatly.

Vincent Martin heads the Immigration Law section of Cundy & Martin, LLC, a law office in Bloomington, Minnesota – a suburb of Minneapolis. Vincent may be reached at www.cundyandmartin.com, vmartin@cundyandmartin.com or (952) 746-4111.