Mack Law BlogIs there a chance my cousin gets deported?

Question:

My cousin is a permanent Resident – 17 years ( Diagnosed with Kleptomania ) originally from India . Her husband and kids
are citizens, Her parents brothers and sisters are citizens.
She has 4 misdemeanors
1) 2003 – Dismissed by the Judge
2) 2012 – Nolle Prossequi – Successfully Completed pretrail intervention
3) 2014 – First Degree misdemeanor adjucated Guilty Nolo Contender
4) Now she has one more Peti theft ( Shoplifting ) first degree charges have been filed and court date has been set.
She is back on medication for her kleptomania and more rigorous treatment.

we have following questions
1) Is there a legal way to ask the merchant and the state to drop the charges?
2) Is she Deportable based on above situation if so how to avoid deportation

Answer:

She very well could be deportable because theft charges are considered crimes of moral turpitude. It is possible to go for a dismissal in her new petty theft case case based on her diagnosis. This will hinge on who the judge and prosecutor is. What I would recommend is that you advise your cousin to hire a criminal defense attorney to resolve her charges in a way that wont make her deportable. Also many criminal defense attorneys, like myself, work with immigration attorneys who can work on her immigration issues and make sure the resolution in the criminal case wont affect her status. Since her husband is a US citizen, I am sure there is a way that she can start the process of becoming a US citizen. Feel free to have her call a few local attorneys using this site and hire the one she deems best. Best of luck.