Lately, both immigration and crime are in the news. Even for people legally here for generations, even minor infractions that most people would agree are neither serious nor violent can have serious consequences, while others might not. Tonight, we look at criminal law, immigration law, and where these two legal disciplines converge.
We hear a lot about illegal entry into the nation; we hear far less about people living here for years, or generations, who face these consequences. In some cases, the victim of an offense might face life altering consequences, such as a domestic violence victim who’s non-citizen spouse faces deportation 20 years later, leaving an American citizen victim to choose between losing his or her source of income amidst the break-up of the family unit or leave the country to stay with his or her life partner following a minor incident where he or she never sought prosecution.
Perhaps you want to learn more about this growing area of concern or want to learn how courts and prosecutors alike achieve justice when outside forces constrain what options are open to the parties in a case.
YLR host, Jeff Hayden, is joined by Carla Gomez, once a criminal defense attorney, now with several years of experience practicing – and training other attorneys – of where criminal law meets immigration consequences, and Juan Prieto from the Immigrants Legal Resource Center. Questions for Jeff and his guests? Call us, toll-free, at (866) 798-8255.