As many of you know, there are immigration consequences to pleading guilty or no contest to criminal charges.
Before you plead guilty or no contest, you must be aware of the exact consequences of your plea. Will you be deported? Will you possibly be deported? Do you have defenses available in immigration court?
While the decision to plead guilty or no contest to a criminal charge should be discussed with your criminal defense attorney, you may also want to consider retaining the services of an immigration attorney to make sure that you are not pleading guilty or no contest to a deportable offense.
Organizations such as the Immigration Defense Project can also provide valuable resources that may help you to determine whether a criminal plea will lead to your removal from the United States.
Immigration law and criminal law intersect when it comes to the consequences of a criminal conviction. For immigration purposes, a withhold of adjudication is considered a conviction.
Eric Matheny represents clients in Miami-Dade and Broward.