Musings on Immigration

Because of the ICE raids and tight immigration enforcement prevalent in Georgia in the recent months, it is imperative that all persons on visas (or even without them) take care of their criminal history. Were you ever convicted of a criminal offense? Talk to a criminal attorney to see if he can reduce the charge to a lesser offense or even vacate it (this basically means there would be no conviction in the end). Do you think you may have something on your criminal record? Don't wait until ICE is knocking on your door or your visa is revoked, talk to a criminal attorney beforehand so that he can investigate what sort of offenses might be on your record. Some people see themselves in a detention center before they had a chance to hire a criminal attorney to take care of that DUI or battery offense they were charged with decades ago. Nothing on your criminal record ever goes away--even if you pay all your fines or so probation; your criminal history is there for life. We hav...

Usted debería contratar a un abogado de inmigración el cual pueda averiguar exactamente cual es el cargo especifico que el gobierno esta presentando en contra suya. Esta semana, tuvimos un cliente  que fue detenido en su propia casa, antes del amanecer, después de que ICE toco a su puerta, y lo transfirieron al Centro de Detención de Stewart en Lumpkin, GA (2.5 horas al sur de Atlanta). La esposa de nuestro cliente contrato a nuestra firma para que investigáramos exactamente lo que el gobierno iba a presentar en contra de su esposo y para que pidiéramos una fianza por el. ICE inicialmente nos dijo que nuestro cliente tenía una felonía agravada, lo cual es bastante serio (ejemplos de felonías agravadas son: pornografía y abuso infantil, ofensas relacionadas con armas de fuego, robo, trafico de drogas, etc.). Dos días después de que fuimos informados de esto, ICE empezó a alegar que ahora nuestro cliente tenia una condena por DUI de 1997 y que por eso estaba detenido. Para ese e...

You should hire an immigration attorney who can actually find out what exactly it is the government (or ICE) is charging you with. This week, we had a client detained at his own house, before dawn, after ICE agents knocked on his door, and transferred him to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA (2.5 hours south of Atlanta). Our client’s wife promptly came to our office and hired us so we could investigate what charges the government was bringing against the client and to get a bond for him. ICE initially told us and our client’s wife that the client had an aggravated felony, which for the purposes of simplicity, is something really really bad (examples of aggravated felonies are child abuse and pornography, burglary, firearms offenses, drug trafficking, etc.).  Two days after we were notified of this, now ICE was claiming our client had a conviction for DUI from 1997 and that’s I why he was being detained. By this time, our client’s wife had already secured a certified disp...

Because as of November 20, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has new enforcement priorities ( http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_prosecutorial_discretion.pdf ). If you are a non citizen in the U.S., and you fit one of the descriptions below, you may be placed in a detention center: • You have been convicted of a felony; • You have been recently apprehended at the U.S. border; • You have been convicted of an aggravated felony as defined in Section 101(a)(43) of          the Immigration and Naturalization Act; • You have been convicted of a “significant misdemeanor” (for example, an offense for DUI,          domestic violence, sexual abuse, burglary, firearms, and drug distribution/trafficking); • You entered the U.S. with no visa after January 1, 2014; • You have a final order of removal (meaning, there is no appeal pending) that was issued to         you a...

Porque a partir de Noviembre 20, 2014, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (“DHS” por sus siglas en Ingles), tiene nuevas prioridades de deportación ( http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_prosecutorial_discretion.pdf ). Si usted no es ciudadano Americano y su situación conlleva uno de los escenarios descritos aquí abajo, usted podría caer en un centro de detención: • Usted tiene una condena por una felonía; • Usted ha sido recientemente aprehendido en la frontera con Estados Unidos; • Usted tienen una condena por una felonía agravada como está definida en la sección         101(a)(43) de Acta de Naturalización e Inmigración (“INA” por sus siglas en inglés); • Usted tiene una condena por un misdemeanor significante (por ejemplo, ofensas de         DUI, violencia doméstica, abuso sexual, robo, armas de fuego, y distribución y         trafico de droga); • Usted entró a los Estados Unidos...

DUI is a common crime that could tank your chances at lawful immigration status. When it comes to immigration and criminal offenses, many people think that violent crimes, drug offenses, and gun crimes will harm your chances of getting lawful status the most. But one crime that has been creeping up as a major road block to achieving lawful status is the DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs). DUIs and DACA Previously, immigration typically only considered DUIs as a negative factor when evaluating the case as a whole. A conviction for DUI wouldn’t automatically and definitively prevent someone from getting lawful status. However, in 2012, when the Department of Homeland Security announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA, the “Dream Act,” or “accion deferida”), many were surprised to see that DUIs were included on the list of “significant misdemeanors” that would definitively and permanently bar someone from receiving DACA. The guidelines stat...