Immigrants have a right to know immigration consequences of criminal convictions.
In many instances immigrants charged with a crime are not warned of the immigration consequences of either a guilty plea or a finding of guilt. This can result in some devastating consequences when that immigrant takes a plea deal which on the surface seems harmless – a small theft offense rather than a larger one for example – and does so without any counsel regarding any possible impact with regards to immigration or, in even more egregious cases, being told that there will be no consequence at all.
Unfortunately in many instances there are consequences. For example, one small theft offense may not render a permanent resident removable from the United States but that same offense might render that permanent resident inadmissible. That means if they leave the US they might be put into removal proceedings even if they wouldn’t have been otherwise.
The courts have long recognized that deportation is a very serious consequence and that immigrants deserve due process when faced with banishment from the United States.
Today the Supreme Court of the United States took another step in protecting the due process rights of immigrants. They ruled that criminal defense counsel for immigrants must advise their clients of the potential immigration consequences of a sentence. If a plea carries a risk of deportation the defense attorney must advise their client of that fact. If the defense attorney does not do so they have rendered ineffective assistance and if the client can prove their case was prejudiced because of the bad or nonexistent advice they may potentially have their case reopened.
The case is Padilla v. Kentucky
