Lawyers say clearing criminal records does not prevent deportation
News from Univision Noticias
As the fear of deportation continues to rise, reporter Jorge Cancino from Univision Noticias, provided information about how lawyers are advising both documented and undocumented immigrants from trying to erase past criminal records.
Lawyers from Miami, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Dallas, and a professor from the University of San Diego explained that a person could never fully erase a criminal record. In the words of Lilia Velásquez, the professor from UC San Diego, “federal crimes cannot be covered, they cannot be erased.” All the lawyers made it known that erasing a crime from someone’s record is not a simple task and is not recognized by immigrant services. All of those involved in the discussion said the only thing immigrants, documented or undocumented, could do is: avoid running into trouble, if it happens do not declare yourself guilty or sign anything until you have a lawyer, and do not waste your time trying to erase previous crimes from your record.
