Criminal Law Attorneys Must Inform Clients About Deportation Risks in Hartford, Connecticut

Imagine you’ve been legally living in the U.S. since you were an infant. You are an immigrant and hold a green card. When you were a teenager, you plead guilty to a non-violent drug possession charge in order to avoid jail time. Now, years later, you go on vacation abroad, but when you return to the U.S. you are told you are no longer allowed to enter the country and lose your green card on account of your criminal record. You face deportation to a country you don’t remember because you plead guilty to a crime you committed years ago. 

The above scenario is not imagined. For some individuals it is their frightening reality. Criminal lawyers don’t handle immigration matters, but because a criminal record can place a person’s immigration status in jeopardy, more criminal lawyers are being urged to ask clients about their immigration status when they seek counsel. According to the Connecticut Law Tribune, criminal attorneys may assume that their clients are citizens, particularly if the clients don’t mention their status. Criminal lawyers need to ask clients about their immigration status, because it affects the consequences and benefits of plea deals. While citizens can often plead guilty for many charges and sometimes benefit as a result, immigrants face serious consequences for pleading guilty.

Immigration laws that work in coordination with criminal laws place a serious burden on criminal lawyers to understand when they need to refer their clients to immigration lawyers. Immigrant clients who face criminal charges may need the counsel of both immigration attorneys and criminal attorneys. In some instances, a criminal charge can result in a green card holder or visa holder to be in violation of some provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that could result in deportation.

 Criminal defense lawyers like Melocowsky & Melocowsky can also protect clients from deportation by invoking a provision that erases a criminal record if a person was convicted of possession of less than one-half ounce of marijuana. In Connecticut, marijuana possession for personal use was decriminalized in 2011. Individuals who are concerned about how a criminal record can affect them in terms of immigration law can benefit greatly from the assistance of a criminal defense lawyer, in this instance.

 Criminal defense lawyers also have an obligation to clients to inform them about how a criminal conviction can affect their immigration status. The Washington Post recently reported that lawyers must tell their clients about the immigration consequences they will face should they plead guilty or if they are found guilty for a given crime. The Sixth Amendment affords everyone the right to effective legal counsel. This right extends to immigrants.

Given recent crackdowns on immigrants who have broken the law, criminal defense lawyers often have to shoulder the burden of advising their clients not only on criminal matters, but on immigration matters, as well. Yet, the consequences of a criminal charge for immigrant clients are so high, the situation highlights the importance of seeking qualified counsel from a criminal defense law firm in Connecticut such as melolegal.com if you are an immigrant facing criminal charges.