Articles Posted in Criminal Record

This week, the United States Supreme Court issued decisions in not one, but two (!!) immigration cases for the immigration lawyers at Fong & Aquino LLP claire-anderson-60670-300x200to chat about.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Maslenjak case.  During oral arguments, the justices seemed extremely skeptical regarding the government’s position that ANY misrepresentation could lead to an individual being stripped of citizenship.  The justices — in a 9-0 smackdown — decided that the lie “must have somehow contributed to the obtaining of citizenship.”  The justices acknowledged that sometimes folks tell minor falsehoods out of “embarrassment, fear, or a desire for privacy.”  The Supreme Court left it to the lower courts to craft rules regarding the effects of lies in the naturalization process, but opined that adopting the government’s rule would give “prosecutors nearly limitless leverage — and afford newly naturalized Americans precious little security.”

In Lee v. United States, the Supreme Court overturned a conviction for an individual facing deportation.  Jae Lee, who immigrated to the United States as a teenager, was told by his criminal defense attorney that accepting a plea deal would not jeopardize his lawful permanent resident status.  Lee discovered that his attorney was “dead wrong” when the government immediately began removal proceedings.  This does not mean that Lee is in the clear: he will need to either negotiate a new plea deal, or go to trial.

Felony conviction for actor Joe Giudice will likely result in removal proceedings

Hollywood sit-com writers occasionally air episodes where the storyline has an immigration subplot. But sometimes, you don’t need fiction writers! Joe Giudice, from “Real Housewives of New Jersey”, was convicted on federal charges that will likely trigger immigration consequences.
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John Lennon - Not The Only DREAMer
John Lennon’s US immigration case was not won without challenges

The possibility of executive action on immigration (and deferred action for parents of DREAMERs) was in the news recently. Unfortunately, not for the reason that many immigrants had been hoping for.
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A Call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Romben Aquino Blog

What do the current discussions on immigration reform mean for immigrants?

Last week, on Tuesday, the President gave his fifth SOTU address (State of the Union for hashtag challenged among us).

In each of his prior SOTUs, the President mentioned the need for comprehensive immigration reform. And so it was again last Tuesday.
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I’m a green card holder with a prior conviction. Am I able to leave and come back to the United States?Green Card Holder International Travel With Conviction

What you should know about traveling internationally if you’ve had a prior conviction.

Over the years, I have encountered this scenario multiple times: “I have a green card. A long time ago, I had some trouble with the law and I pled no contest to [some crime]. It’s been so long ago that I forgot about it. I have left the country and re-entered using my green card at least twenty times. But just last week, as I was coming back from my vacation, they told me at the airport that they want to start court proceedings to take away my green card based upon that old conviction.”
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This morning, the Immigration Judge granted a motion to terminate the removal proceedings against one of my clients. How did we pull it off? My client is a lawful permanent resident. At the time his family contacted me, he was in state custody with multiple criminal charges pending. I told his family to have his public defender contact me so that we could discuss a strategy.

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