In recent decades, America's immigration laws have changed to more closely resemble criminal ones. There are extreme burdens one must meet to stay in the U.S, regardless of family ties to the country or length of time spent here, and it is even harder to stay in the U.S. with a criminal record. Due to the extreme nature of our current laws, the Supreme Court in Padilla v. Kentucky , 559 U.S. 356 (2010), decided that criminal defense attorneys must advise their clients on the immigration consequences of their convictions in order to meet the standard of "effective assistance of counsel." This was a bold move for the Supreme Court; historically, defense attorneys did not have to advise of almost any consequences outside of the direct consequences of a conviction, such as your sentence and its terms. Immigration law is extremely complex and takes years for attorneys to learn. As a result, even after the Padilla ruling, not all criminal defense attorneys have been advis...
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