How can a DWI impact your immigration status? Any time I have someone from another country in the United States illegally and they pick up a crime, specifically a DWI, I have to look at each case and the facts surrounding it. Because I can talk about things that happen typically, but when you get something unique, you have to look very specifically at a few different things.
The first thing I will look at is who is in power right now? Who’s the current president? Who has the authority to deport you or not? Because each president has their policies.
In the past, sometimes, first-time DWI arrests (not even a conviction) would get a person deported. Now, that is not necessarily the case.
Some things can happen during an arrest that could change that, whether resisting arrest or something more significant. So I get in touch with a reputable immigration attorney, and we work together. Because anytime I have a foreign national charged with a crime, I immediately recommend they speak with an immigration specialist. Like if you get cancer, you see an oncologist. If you’ve got a DWI, you need a criminal defense attorney. But you also need an immigration attorney to help you through that process.
Generally speaking, the first-time DWI for a student doesn’t typically lead to deportation. Could it? Sure. But I haven’t seen that happen a lot under the Biden Administration.
Unfortunately, I do see many illegal immigrants picking up their first DWI. We can work with that. We can deal with both issues, and you won’t get deported.
I also see situations with a second, third, or even fourth DWI for a person here illegally, which creates a huge problem. You are very much looking at potential deportation, and you’re also looking at possible federal charges for being here illegally. Once that process starts, your DWI is the least of your problems.
But MRD Lawyers is here to help with the federal charges and DWI when the time comes.