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How Queens Criminal Lawyers Can Help Avoid Deportation
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How Queens Criminal Lawyers Can Help Avoid Deportation
Being charged with a crime is scary enough, but for immigrants, it can also raise the terrifying prospect of deportation. Even a minor charge can put your status in the U.S. at risk if you are not a citizen. Fortunately, an experienced Queens criminal lawyer can help you navigate the complex immigration consequences of criminal allegations. With smart representation, many non-citizens can avoid deportation and stay with their families in the U.S.
How Criminal Charges Can Lead to Deportation
Under U.S. immigration law, almost any criminal conviction can prompt deportation proceedings. Even some arrests without a conviction can make you deportable depending on the circumstances. Some common scenarios include:
- Drug offenses like possession or trafficking
- Theft, fraud or other crimes involving “moral turpitude”
- Domestic violence, stalking and violation of protective orders
- Assault, battery, menacing and other violent crimes
In addition to the crime itself, the potential sentence also matters. For example, any offense punishable by a year or more in jail is considered an “aggravated felony” leading to deportation under immigration law. The bottom line is that pretty much any criminal charge should be a red flag for non-citizens.
How an Attorney Can Help
While the immigration consequences seem harsh, a skilled Queens criminal attorney can often prevent them. Some key ways we defend immigrant clients include:
- Plea bargaining to avoid deportable convictions – Negotiating with the prosecution to plead guilty to a lesser offense that won’t trigger deportation. For example, pleading to disorderly conduct rather than domestic violence.
- Getting charges dismissed – We scrutinize every detail of the prosecutor’s case to build motions to dismiss for insufficient evidence, illegal search & seizure issues, Miranda rights violations, etc. If the charges are tossed, there’s nothing to deport you for.
- Alternative dispositions – In some cases, we can negotiate an outcome like probation before judgment, deferred adjudication or conditional discharge where there is no formal “conviction” entered. This can avoid negative immigration consequences.
- Post-conviction relief – If you already pled guilty and were convicted, we can file motions to vacate the conviction due to ineffective assistance of counsel or other procedural defects.
An attorney can also advise on when to apply for asylum or other immigration relief to strengthen your case against deportation. The key is consulting with a lawyer early on so these strategies can be implemented in a timely manner.
Case Results from Our Immigration-Focused Defense Team
Over decades of practice devoted to defending Queens immigrants, our New York criminal lawyers have racked up countless successes helping non-citizens avoid deportation. A few we are proud of include:
- Domestic violence charges reduced to non-deportable disorderly conduct conviction
- Shoplifting charges dismissed for immigrant nursing student
- Drug charges dropped against DACA recipient
- Lawful permanent resident avoids deportation after assault conviction is vacated
In case after case, we have protected our clients’ ability to live and work legally in the country they call home. We know how to intervene in the early stages of a criminal case to shape the outcome in an immigration-safe way.