Today's Date: September 21, 2023
NMG and Panasonic Energy Announce Progress Update on Technological and Commercial Collaboration as Canada and Japan Reinforce Tr   •   Presenting the Razer Blade 16 x Automobili Lamborghini Edition – Supercar Excellence Meets Gaming Dominance   •   Thought Leaders at Zayed Sustainability Prize Forum Highlight Pathways to Drive Progress for People and Planet   •   Sneak Preview: The Way Forward at Grace Hopper Celebration 2023   •   Steelworkers Humanity Fund Donates $20,000 to Support disaster victims in North Africa   •   First Solar Breaks Ground on $1.1 Billion, 3.5 GW Louisiana Manufacturing Facility   •   The Government of Canada's Indigenous Forestry Initiative Is Accepting New Applications   •   Lehigh Valley Health Network and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Announce Affiliation Agreement   •   Pachama Announces Major New Forest Carbon Purchase from Mercado Libre's Regenera América program, Bringing Total Investme   •   New survey reveals how Minnesota seniors prioritize overall experience, local customer service when choosing a Medicare plan   •   Lucina Launches AI-Enabled Predictive Postpartum Tool to Address Maternal Mortality Epidemic   •   Moms' Ability to 'Remember' Prior Pregnancies Suggests New Strategies for Preventing Complications   •   RazerCon 2023 Lights Up the Global Gaming Community With Groundbreaking Announcements & Exclusive Partnerships   •   Niman Ranch Honors Northern California’s McCormack Ranch for Thirty Years of Partnership   •   Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas grants $1.2 million to fund March of Dimes' first Texas 'Mom & Baby Mobile Health Center   •   Greenlight Launches Free, Interactive K-12 Personal Finance Curriculum to Improve Financial Education in Schools Nationwide   •   SmartHelio Named Start-Up of the Year at RE+ Start-Up Live Competition Sponsored by Mercom Capital Group   •   Introducing The Heybrook: A first of its kind Wellness and Social Club for Expectant and Early Parents opening in Kirkland, WA o   •   The National Council Puts Self-Care at the Center of the 6th Annual FreeHer Conference   •   The Armenia Project Calls on World Community to Force End to Azerbaijani Aggression
Bookmark and Share

Supreme Court Decision Protects Right To Immigration Advice

 Washington D.C. - The American Immigration Council applauds today's Supreme Court decision on the right to counsel for noncitizens charged with committing a crime. The Court held that criminal defense lawyers must advise their noncitizen clients about the risk of deportation if they accept a guilty plea.  The Court recognized that current immigration laws impose harsh and mandatory deportation consequences onto criminal convictions, and that Congress eliminated from these laws the Attorney General's discretionary authority to cancel removal in meritorious cases.  The Court said, "These changes to our immigration law have dramatically raised the stakes of a noncitizen's criminal conviction.  The importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important."
 
The case, Padilla v. Kentucky, involved a Vietnam War veteran who has resided lawfully in the U.S. for over 40 years.  His criminal defense lawyer told him not to worry about the immigration consequences of pleading guilty to a crime, but that advice was wrong.  In fact, the guilty plea made Mr. Padilla subject to mandatory deportation from the United States.  The state of Kentucky said that Mr. Padilla had no right to withdraw his plea when he learned of the deportation consequence.  Today's decision reverses the Kentucky court.  It also rejected the federal government's position (which had been adopted by several courts) that a noncitizen is protected only from "affirmative misadvice" and not from a lawyer's failure to provide any advice about the immigration consequences of a plea.

"The right to counsel is at the very core of our criminal justice system. The Court affirms that immigrants should not be held accountable when they rely on incorrect advice from their lawyers or where counsel fails to provide any immigration advice at all," said Beth Werlin, an attorney at the American Immigration Council's Legal Action Center. "Today's decision also reminds us that ultimately, the increased criminalization of immigration law and lack of flexibility has resulted in harsh results. Congress should do its part to restore immigration judges' discretion to consider the particular circumstances in a person's case, thus affording each person facing deportation an individualized and fair opportunity to be heard." 


For more background on this Supreme Court's decision, read the Legal Action Center's blog post.

###

Contact Seth Hoy at 202-507-7509 or shoy@immcouncil.org

   
The Legal Action Center (LAC) of the American Immigration Council advocates for fundamental fairness in U.S. immigration law. To this end, the LAC engages in impact litigation and appears as amicus curiae (friend of the court) before administrative tribunals and federal courts in significant immigration cases on targeted legal issues. We also provide resources to lawyers litigating immigration cases and serve as a point of contact for lawyers conducting or contemplating immigration litigation. The LAC also works with other immigrants' rights organizations and immigration attorneys across the United States to promote the just and fair administration of our immigration laws.

A division of the American Immigration Council.

Visit our website at www.legalactioncenter.org.

 



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News