The Board of Immigration Appeals recently issued a decision that will have serious negative consequences for non-citizens convicted of marijuana (cannabis) possession. See Matter of Dominguez-Rodriguez, 26 I&N Dec. 408 (BIA 2014). The immigration laws in the U.S. make certain non-citizens removable (subject to deportation) if they are convicted of…
Many immigrants believe that if they accept the pre-trial intervention or diversion programs offered to criminal defendants after they are arrested, they will not face deportation from the United States. That is simply not true. To understand why, you must understand that there are two different laws that the U.S.…
Administrative Removal can be used to obtain an order of removal against almost any non-citizen, non-lawful permanent resident who has been convicted of an aggravated felony. Administrative removal can even be used against a condition lawful permanent resident, unless and until that person has the conditions of their permanent residency…
The Board of Immigration Appeals delivered a published decision recently finding that certain female victims of domestic violence may be eligible for asylum in the United States. The Board’s decision in Matter of A-R-C-G, 26 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2014) held that “married women in Guatemala who are unable to…
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010) that defendants have a Constitutional right to receive accurate advice from their criminal attorneys about the immigration consequences of any criminal conviction. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that where the immigration consequences of a…
On Friday, August 22, 2014, John Gihon, a partner with Lasnetski Gihon Law, provided a two-hour training course to attorneys with the Public Defender’s Office in Jacksonville, Florida. The training course was entitled, the Immigration Consequences of Criminal Prosecution, or “Crimmigration.” Mr. Gihon is a former state prosecutor and former…
Last week, the experienced criminal and immigration attorneys at Lasnetski Gihon Law helped a client remove a criminal conviction that made him an aggravated felon. A prior criminal defense attorney did not advise the client, who is a lawful permanent resident, that entering a plea to a crime of violence…
This is a common occurrence in the state of Florida. Non-citizens are arrested for crimes and they enter pleas to the charges without being told of the probable or possible immigration consequences of their convictions. Many criminal defense attorneys have little or no knowledge of the immigration laws of the…
On August 15, 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a published decision in Matter of L-G-H-, 26 I&N Dec. 365 (BIA 2014), regarding the immigration consequences of a conviction for violating Florida Statute § 893.13(1)(a)(1) (sale, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, a controlled…
President Obama has said that if Congress failed to act to pass comprehensive immigration reform before the August Summer recess, he would be forced to take action on the matter. Many legal scholars and activists have chimed in on what they think the President should do and what they think…