Can a Lawyer Stop Deportation?

If you or a loved one is facing deportation, this can be a scary time. But you likely have more options than you think. Depending on the circumstances, these might include delaying or even stopping deportation. A skilled immigration attorney can help you understand your options for relief. They can also be instrumental in securing the best possible outcome for you and your family.

The deportation process is often confusing and fast-moving. A dedicated lawyer can help you determine how to proceed and guide you through the process. You can share the details of your situation with them in confidence without concerns that they’ll report you to the authorities. Your legal counsel has a professional duty to protect your interests. In doing so, their expertise can serve as a significant benefit to your deportation case.

In this article, we discuss many ways an immigration attorney can be invaluable to you during deportation proceedings. We’ll also review key considerations to help you identify an attorney that’s right for you.

What Is Deportation?

Deportation, also called removal, is the legal process where the U.S. government removes a noncitizen from the country. This can happen for various alleged violations of immigration law. Some examples include:

• Overstaying a visa
• Being in the country without proper immigration status
• Committing a crime that makes someone eligible for removal

The process typically begins when immigration authorities, like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), issue a Notice to Appear (NTA). This document tells someone they must appear in immigration court for removal proceedings.

An immigration judge runs the proceedings and decides whether the person should be allowed to stay in the United States or sent back to their home country.

During this process, some people may be held in ICE detention while their case moves through the system. ICE can arrest and hold people whom they believe might not show up for court or whom they think are dangerous. Not everyone facing deportation is detained. In some cases, detainees may request a bond hearing. This could allow their release from detention while their case is pending.

The Right to an Attorney in Immigration Cases

You have the right to legal representation in deportation proceedings. The government doesn’t provide a lawyer, though, and you are not required to use one.

Still, it’s highly advisable that you do.

Immigration law is notoriously complicated. An experienced immigration attorney can make a big difference. They can help you fight deportation using the best legal strategies available for your case.

How an Immigration Attorney Can Help

A skilled immigration lawyer can help you understand your case and figure out the next steps. We review some of the early ways an attorney can help below.

• Case review and strategy: After reviewing your history, family ties, and any past immigration violations, your attorney can develop a legal strategy tailored to your situation.
• Responding to the NTA: They can also check your NTA for errors, draft challenges to weak charges, and file motions that could narrow or dismiss the case.
• Bond and release: If you’re detained, your attorney may request a bond hearing, present evidence of good moral character, and argue that you’re not a danger or flight risk to secure your release.
• Evidence collection: Your attorney can gather compelling evidence, including documents from courts, employers, schools, and doctors, to support your claims.
• Communication with the court and ICE: A lawyer can help you avoid procedural pitfalls by meeting agency deadlines, filing the proper forms correctly, and even negotiating prosecutorial discretion with ICE to pause or even close your case.

If your case proceeds, your lawyer may use various tools to stop or delay your deportation.

Removal Defenses

A skilled immigration attorney can identify any potential weaknesses in the government’s case against you and recommend certain defenses to challenge your deportation. These might include:

• No legal basis for removal: Your NTA cites incorrect or unsupported charges, like improper classification of a crime as a deportable offense.
• Constitutional violations: Violation of your rights during arrest or detention could result in exclusion of certain evidence or case dismissal.
• U.S. citizenship: Your legal status as a citizen prevents your deportation.
• Green card: Your legal status as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) prevents deportation under the alleged grounds.
• Improper service of NTA: A procedural defect in your case makes your removal order invalid.

If your attorney asserts a legal defense, they may file an appeal with the immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). An appeal automatically pauses efforts to deport you.

They may also file certain motions to defeat the removal order. These might include:

• Motion to Terminate Proceedings
• Motion to Suppress Evidence
• Motion to Reopen/Reconsider

Each legal defense and motion has specific eligibility requirements.

Forms of Relief To Stop or Delay Deportation

Even if you’re not challenging the validity of the government’s case, your lawyer may discuss certain forms of relief with you. Like defenses, relief can stop or delay your deportation.

But with relief, your attorney argues that you shouldn’t be deported even though you may be removable. We explore some common forms of relief below:

• Cancellation of removal: Allows a noncitizen to stay if they can prove that their removal would cause extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or LPR family member
• Adjustment of status: Permits a noncitizen to apply to be a green card holder while in the United States
• Withholding of removal: Prohibits deportation of a noncitizen to a country where they would face persecution or harm
• Waivers of inadmissibility: Requests forgiveness of certain immigration violations or criminal convictions that make someone eligible for removal
• Voluntary departure: Grants permission for a noncitizen to leave the United States without a removal order, potentially preserving eligibility for future immigration benefits
• Asylum: Similar to withholding of removal, but requests a discretionary grant of relief from deportation for those who fear harm in their home country
• Convention Against Torture (CAT): Protects someone likely to experience torture in their home country from deportation
• Temporary protected status (TPS): Provides temporary relief from deportation for nationals of certain countries

Each form of relief carries distinct eligibility requirements. And the challenges associated with different immigration violations can vary. Overstaying a visa, for example, is a deportable offense. But it won’t disqualify you from certain forms of relief the same way an aggravated felony conviction may.

The right immigration lawyer can review the statutes relevant to your case to identify the relief for which you qualify. That way, they can strategize and zealously advocate on your behalf.

Choosing and Finding the Right Immigration Lawyer

The risks of moving forward without legal representation are likely evident. But how do you find the best-suited advisor to handle your case? After all, they’ll be reviewing your relations with loved ones, medical records, and a host of other personal information.

As such, you want to find someone:

• You can trust
• With years of experience in immigration cases
• Whose reviews/ratings are strong and credible
• Who helps you understand your full range of legal options

Honest legal advice about your chances for relief is what you need at this time. A deportation order is serious. But there are deportation defenses, as well as other forms of relief, that may be able to keep you in the United States.

So, choose your lawyer wisely.

You may want to meet with more than one to make sure you’re comfortable. Many offer free or low-cost consultations and services. FindLaw’s directory of immigration law attorneys is a good place to start. Review ratings and background information for legal help in your area. Just click on your location and enlist the help of a solid immigration lawyer to help you achieve the best possible outcome.