Immigration attorneys: Be prepared in the event of deportation
In the wake of ICE operations around the country, local immigration attorneys are advising undocumented immigrants to be prepared in the event of a deportation.
El Paso immigration attorney, Iliana Holguin, tells ABC-7 she has advised her clients to become aware of their status and know their rights, if they were deported.
Holguin says there’s a lot of speculation about who may be in danger of being deported, following President Trumps’ executive order. She says those who have a criminal history and given an order of deportation in the past are at risk, including anyone here who doesn’t have status or overstayed their status.
“Of course, people who are here without any status at all, certainly are in danger of being detained. Even if they don’t have any criminal history the mere fact of being here without status is enough that could lead ICE to detain them,” Holguin said.
Holguin said the best defense is an immigration attorney. She says many people seek advice from Notary Publics, who don’t have knowledge or the power to file immigration cases.
“If someone is here without status, my advice to them, would be to seek legal advice to try to see if there is a way they can obtain lawful status. A lot of people who are undocumented here have U.S citizen children who may be able to file immigrant petitions for them or are married to lawful permanent residents, so some people may have a way to apply for immigration status.”
She adds those who are in the process of getting their documents, should continue to do so.
“If someone has an immigration petition pending, with the immigration service, they need to follow through with that. The ultimate goal is to get them status, to get them lawful permanent resident status.”
Holguin says those who are undocumented, still have rights if deported.
“If you’re talking about someone who is here, living, working with their families, never been deported, before, if they get detained, they need to exercise their right to see an immigration judge because they may qualify for some relief of removal.”
Along with requesting to see an immigration judge, a person has the right to contact the Mexican Consulate and seek an attorney. The process is different for those convicted of crimes and received an order of deportation in the past.
“Because there’s already a deportation order in place, they can actually just be deported using that same old order of deportation.”
Holguin says those people can seek asylum, if there’s a fear of returning to the country of origin. “They’re entitled to something called a ‘reasonable fear interview,’ where an asylum officer will interview them to see if they really have a reasonable fear of persecution upon return to their country.”
If there is, the case will be transferred to an immigration judge to hear the claim. If a person doesn’t express fear, then ICE can execute the order of deportation. Holguin says a person can also apply for relief for removal, asking ICE not to execute order, but Holguin says there’s no guarantee it will be approved under the current administration.
Holguin says once a person from Mexico is detained, the process moves very quickly. ICE will take the person to any of the ports of entry and release them to Mexico. Holguin says that’s why it’s so important to have an idea of what you may need to do.
“That’s why it’s important for people to be aware of what potentially could happen in their situation so they can plan accordingly, especially if we’re talking about folks who have young children, that they’re caregivers for. All of those plans need to be thought of before and it’s going to be a difficult conversation to have with children, with family members but really at this point, we just don’t know what’s going to happen and people need to be prepared for the worst.”
