ARRESTED? INVESTIGATED?
ARRESTADO? INVESTIGADO?
A criminal charge can threaten far more than jail, probation, or a permanent record when the accused is not a United States citizen. A plea that appears favorable in criminal court may later trigger removal proceedings, make a person inadmissible, prevent lawful permanent residence or naturalization, or eliminate immigration relief that might otherwise have been available.
These risks can affect lawful permanent residents, visa holders, people with pending asylum or adjustment applications, recipients of temporary protection, and undocumented individuals. Even a person who has lived in the United States for decades and has a spouse, children, business, and home here may face severe immigration consequences.
The safest time to analyze those consequences is before a plea, diversion agreement, admission, or sentencing decision. A Miami criminal defense lawyer for deportable offenses can examine the exact charge, protect the criminal case, and coordinate with qualified immigration counsel so that the defense strategy accounts for both systems.
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If you are not a United States citizen, the immigration consequence may be more severe and more permanent than the criminal penalty. Early defense work can preserve evidence, challenge the accusation, identify immigration-sensitive issues, and create time for coordinated advice before a critical decision.
For help from Albert Quirantes, Esq. Criminal DUI & Ticket Lawyers, call or text 305-644-1800 for a free strategy session.
Albert Quirantes has practiced criminal defense for more than 35 years, represented more than 8,000 clients, and handled numerous jury trials. His firm has over 1,400 five-star Google reviews and serves clients in English and Spanish.
Albert Quirantes, Esq. represents Deportable Offens cases throughout Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and South Florida.
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‘Deportable offense’ is a practical label, not the name of one Florida crime. Federal immigration law identifies different grounds that may make a noncitizen removable after admission. Other provisions address inadmissibility, which can affect entry, travel, adjustment of status, visas, and some forms of relief.
The principal criminal grounds of deportability appear in 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2). They include certain crimes involving moral turpitude, multiple qualifying convictions, aggravated felonies, controlled-substance offenses, specified firearm offenses, and certain convictions involving domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, child neglect, child abandonment, or protection-order violations.
Separate criminal grounds of inadmissibility appear in 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2). Those grounds can include certain crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled-substance violations, two or more convictions with qualifying aggregate sentences, and other specifically listed conduct.
The result cannot be determined from the everyday name of the charge alone. Immigration analysis may depend on the elements of the statute, the charging document, plea language, judgment, sentence, alleged loss, victim’s age, drug involved, relationship between the parties, and the person’s immigration history. Two cases with similar facts can produce different outcomes because the legal records are different.
Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude
Federal immigration law uses the term ‘crime involving moral turpitude,’ often shortened to CIMT. The label is a federal immigration classification and is not printed beside most Florida charges. Crimes involving fraud, theft with the required intent, some violent offenses, and certain offenses involving serious dishonesty may fall within the category, but the analysis is statute-specific.
Timing and potential sentence can matter for deportability based on one CIMT. Multiple CIMT convictions not arising from a single scheme may create a separate ground. Inadmissibility rules and limited exceptions use different requirements, so a conclusion about one part of immigration law may not answer the whole case.
Aggravated Felonies Under Federal Immigration Law
An ‘aggravated felony’ is defined by federal immigration law in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43). The list includes many categories, such as murder, rape, sexual abuse of a minor, certain drug-trafficking and firearm offenses, some crimes of violence, theft or burglary offenses with a qualifying term of imprisonment, fraud or deceit offenses involving a qualifying loss, obstruction offenses, and attempts or conspiracies to commit listed offenses.
A Florida offense does not have to use the words ‘aggravated felony’ to create this risk. Sentence length can be decisive in some categories, and federal immigration law may count a suspended portion of a sentence. Because aggravated-felony treatment can bar important forms of relief and lead to detention or expedited procedures, plea and sentencing language must be reviewed before the disposition is entered.
Controlled Substance Offenses
A conviction under Florida’s controlled-substance statute, including Florida Statute § 893.13, can have serious immigration consequences. Federal law contains broad controlled-substance grounds, while a limited statutory exception may apply in certain circumstances involving a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana.
Drug type, quantity, trafficking language, admissions, and whether the offense relates to a federally controlled substance may matter. A diversion program is not automatically immigration-safe if it requires a guilty or no-contest plea, an admission of facts, or another finding combined with punishment or restraint.
Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, and Protection Orders
Federal law lists certain convictions for domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, child neglect, and child abandonment as deportability grounds. Florida cases may involve Florida Statute § 784.03, Florida Statute § 784.045, Florida Statute § 827.03, and the domestic-violence relationships described in Florida Statute § 741.28.
The relationship allegation, the offense elements, injury findings, plea language, and sentence may affect the analysis. A protection-order violation can also create immigration consequences based on a civil or criminal court’s determination, so it should never be treated as a routine technical violation.
Firearm Offenses
Federal deportability law separately addresses certain unlawful purchasing, selling, using, owning, possessing, or carrying of firearms or destructive devices. Florida firearm prosecutions may include charges under Florida Statute § 790.23 and other provisions. A plea to a firearm-specific offense can be dangerous even when it avoids a longer jail sentence.
Theft, Burglary, Fraud, and Violent Offenses
Florida theft and burglary cases may be prosecuted under Florida Statute § 812.014 and Florida Statute § 810.02. Depending on the elements, intended deprivation, sentence, loss amount, and record of conviction, these cases may raise CIMT or aggravated-felony issues. Violent offenses can also create risk based on their elements and sentence.
The defense must avoid relying on labels such as misdemeanor, felony, withhold of adjudication, time served, or diversion as proof that a result is safe. Immigration law applies federal definitions that do not always match Florida criminal terminology.
The federal definition of ‘conviction’ appears in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A). Immigration law may treat a case as a conviction when there is a formal judgment of guilt or when guilt was admitted, a guilty or no-contest plea was entered, or sufficient facts were admitted and the judge imposed some punishment, penalty, or restraint.
A Florida withhold of adjudication may still count as a conviction for immigration purposes. Completion of probation, a state rehabilitative dismissal, sealing, or expungement also may not erase the federal immigration effect. The exact disposition and reason for any later vacatur must be reviewed individually.
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We ask about citizenship, lawful permanent residence, visas, pending applications, prior entries, prior removals, and earlier criminal cases. Criminal defense counsel should not guess at immigration status or assume a long-term resident is safe.
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We compare the charged statute with the federal immigration categories and examine which documents may later form the record of conviction. The statutory subsection and the words used in the information, plea, and judgment can matter as much as the negotiated sentence.
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The first objective remains a strong criminal defense. We investigate witnesses, videos, searches, statements, identification, forensic evidence, intent, and available motions. A dismissal or acquittal normally avoids a conviction-based ground, although conduct-based immigration issues may still require separate advice.
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When the evidence and prosecutor permit, we evaluate alternative charges, factual language, sentence structure, loss findings, drug identification, victim relationship, and other terms that may reduce immigration harm. No alternative should be called safe until qualified immigration counsel reviews it for that client.
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Criminal defense counsel controls the criminal litigation. Immigration counsel evaluates removability, inadmissibility, detention, relief, travel, naturalization, and status-specific consequences. Coordinated advice is especially important before a plea deadline or sentencing hearing.
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We seek accurate charging documents, plea forms, transcripts, orders, and judgments. Clear records can be critical years later when immigration authorities examine what the person was convicted of and what sentence was imposed.
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Do not discuss immigration status or the facts of the accusation with witnesses, codefendants, or on recorded jail calls. Provide accurate identifying information when legally required, but obtain legal advice before giving a substantive statement.
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The court considers probable cause, bond, and release conditions. Immigration custody is separate from state criminal custody, and posting a criminal bond does not guarantee release if federal authorities lodge a detainer or assume custody.
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The State Attorney may file the arrest charge, change it, add charges, or decline prosecution. Early defense work can preserve video, locate witnesses, identify legal defects, and present information before that decision.
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After a not-guilty plea, the defense obtains and analyzes reports, recordings, digital evidence, laboratory results, photographs, and witness statements. Appropriate motions may challenge a search, statement, identification, charge, or other evidence.
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Before diversion, plea, or sentencing, the proposed resolution should be examined under federal immigration law. The review must consider the client’s exact status and history, not only the name of the offense.
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A case may end through no action, dismissal, diversion, negotiated plea, trial, or court ruling. The client decides whether to accept a plea after receiving advice about criminal exposure and reasonably available immigration consequences.
A delinquency adjudication is generally treated differently from an adult criminal conviction for federal immigration purposes. In Matter of Devison, the Board of Immigration Appeals held that a youthful-offender adjudication corresponding to juvenile delinquency did not constitute a conviction under the federal immigration definition.
Florida law likewise provides that when qualifying juvenile sanctions are imposed after transfer, an adjudication of delinquency is not deemed a conviction under Florida Statute § 985.565. But this distinction does not make every juvenile case immigration-safe.
Florida permits some children to be transferred, direct-filed, or indicted for prosecution in adult court. An adult conviction can carry the same federal immigration consequences as an adult conviction imposed on an older person.
In addition, some immigration grounds depend on conduct rather than a formal conviction, and admissions involving drugs, gang activity, prostitution, or other conduct may create separate problems.
A juvenile defense strategy should protect the child from unnecessary admissions, examine whether adult prosecution can be avoided, seek juvenile treatment when legally available, and coordinate with immigration counsel before any plea or statement. The child’s parents should disclose immigration concerns privately to defense counsel at the beginning of the case.
A noncitizen needs a criminal defense team that understands that the wording of a plea can matter long after the criminal case closes. The defense must investigate the accusation, litigate viable issues, and evaluate proposed resolutions before a permanent immigration problem is created.
Albert Quirantes has practiced criminal defense for more than 35 years, represented more than 8,000 clients, and handled numerous jury trials. His firm has over 1,400 five-star Google reviews and serves clients in English and Spanish from its Miami office.
The attorney team includes former Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge and former prosecutor Stephen Millan, former prosecutor and former public defender Arthur Spiegel, bilingual attorney Jorge E. Alonso, and criminal defense trial lawyer Jonathan Ibañez, whose work includes legal technology and AI-based defenses. When needed, the criminal defense team coordinates with immigration counsel so the client can make an informed decision before accepting a disposition.
Albert Quirantes, Esq. Criminal DUI & Ticket Lawyers is located at 1815 NW 7th Street, Miami, FL 33125.
Yes. Federal immigration consequences do not turn only on whether Florida labels an offense a misdemeanor or felony. The offense elements, sentence, timing, record, and immigration status control the analysis.
Not necessarily. A Florida withhold may still satisfy the federal immigration definition of conviction when there is a plea or admission and the court imposes a punishment, penalty, or restraint.
Do not assume so. Some programs require a plea, admission, community service, classes, supervision, or another restraint that may satisfy the federal definition. The written agreement and procedure must be reviewed before acceptance.
No single answer applies to every drug case, but controlled-substance cases carry especially serious risks. The statute, substance, quantity, trafficking allegation, admissions, disposition, and immigration history all matter.
Yes. A domestic-violence-related conviction may create deportability or other immigration problems depending on the offense elements, qualifying relationship, record of conviction, sentence, and other facts.
Often it does not. Immigration authorities apply federal rules, and a state rehabilitative sealing or expungement may leave the conviction effective for immigration purposes. A case-specific review is essential.
An arrest alone is not the same as a conviction-based deportability finding. However, an arrest can lead to immigration screening, a detainer, detention, or proceedings depending on the person’s status and history. Criminal and immigration counsel should be contacted quickly.
A true juvenile delinquency adjudication generally is not treated as a conviction under the federal definition, but adult prosecution and conduct-based grounds can change the result. Juvenile cases require early, individualized analysis.
Sometimes the charge, statutory subsection, factual basis, sentence, or other terms can be negotiated in a way that reduces risk. The prosecutor and court are not required to accept an alternative, and immigration counsel must evaluate any proposal before the plea.
Travel, readmission, adjustment, renewal, and naturalization may involve different immigration rules. Obtain individualized immigration advice before leaving the United States or filing an application after an arrest or case disposition.
If you are not a United States citizen, the immigration consequence may be more severe and more permanent than the criminal penalty. Early defense work can preserve evidence, challenge the accusation, identify immigration-sensitive issues, and create time for coordinated advice before a critical decision.
For help from Albert Quirantes, Esq. Criminal DUI & Ticket Lawyers, call or text 305-644-1800 for a free strategy session.