Criminal defense lawyers don’t typically know anything about immigration law. Immigration law is federal. Most criminal defense attorneys practice only state law in state courts. Even if they do practice in federal criminal courtrooms, it is a completely different area of law from immigration. Asking a criminal lawyer about immigration…
Articles Posted in Removal/Deportation
How Does President Trump’s Executive Order Affect Me If I Am Charged with a Crime?
There has been great fear rising within immigrant communities regarding the new policies directed at certain non-citizens. On January 25th, 2107, President Trump issued an executive order titled Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States. This Order provided guidance to federal agencies on how to implement…
How Does President Obama’s Changes To Cuban Immigration Policy Affect Cuban Nationals With A Final Order of Removal Or Deportation?
President’s Obama’s January 12, 2017 announcement about Cuban immigration policy changed the landscape for Cuban nationals. Along with all the official changes announced on January 12, 2017 on this subject, there was another document that contains two very important, but often overlooked paragraphs. The United States and Cuba released a…
How U.S. Immigration Policies have Recently Changed for Cuban Nationals
Last week, President Obama issued the first major change in U.S. immigration policy towards Cubans in over 20 years. On January 12, 2017, President Obama announced that the 1995 immigration policy designed specifically for Cuban nationals, known as “Wet-Foot/Dry-Foot”, would be abolished immediately. That means that Cuban nationals arriving at…
If They Decriminalizes Possession of Marijuana, Can I Still Get Deported if I get Caught?
Recently, multiple states have not only legalized the use of marijuana (aka cannabis, weed, pot, etc.) for medical use, but they have decriminalized possession of marijuana for recreational use. Following that trend in states that have not yet taken this action (Florida being one of them) local governments have made…
I Have an Order of Removal or Deportation, What Do I Do Now?
This is a question that many immigrants find themselves asking at some point in their journey to U.S. citizenship. I applied for a green card and they told me I have an order of removal, or I was arrested and immigration detained me and said I have an order of…
I Received a Notice to Appear from Immigration, What do I do Now?
The moment that a person receives a Notice to Appear from a federal immigration agency can be frightening and intimidating. You may ask yourself, why does the government want to deport me? What did I do wrong? How can they bring up that criminal case from a decade ago? However,…
Big Changes to the Visa Waiver Program Could Effect Many People Who Won’t Know it Until its Too Late.
Congress recently passed legislation that changes who is eligible to enter the United States through the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). These changes are in reaction to the fears that terrorists and terrorist sympathizers will enter the United States exploiting the ease by which people can enter through the VWP. The…
Why Every Criminal Defense Attorney in Florida should have a Trusted Immigration Attorney they can Talk to Anytime
Last month I had the honor of speaking at the Florida Public Defender Association’s 30th Annual “Trial with Style Conference” in unfortunately rainy Fort Lauderdale. While in one of my former lives as a state prosecutor and I like to think I always tried my cases with style, during this…
Summaries of Recent Immigration-Related District Court Cases
Over the last few months I had the opportunity to work with some fantastic immigration attorneys across the Southeast United States on a collaborative project. Our goal was to find, review and summarize every immigration-related and useful District Court and Circuit Court Case from the Eleventh Circuit and put them…