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Immigration Raids in Virginia – Know Your Rights

As many of you have already heard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been given an initiative to find, arrest and deport people who have recently arrived from Central America. I’m going to discuss the main points of these ICE raids and what you need to know in order to protect yourself in the event this happens to you or your family members.

  1. Who is being targeted? The focus of these raids are adults, children and families who were caught entering the U.S. after May 1, 2014 crossing the border illegally:
    • Who have gone to immigration court and have been issued final orders of removal by an Immigration Judge or failed to appear in court and ordered deported in his/her absence; and
    • Who have no legal remedies left, including appeals, asylum, or any other humanitarian claims.
  2. Undocumented aliens who do not fall under these categories are not the target of the recent ICE raids.
  3. If you are currently in deportation/removal proceedings (Immigration Court), then you should not fear that you will be arrested.
  4. Even if you fall under the categories listed above, you still have rights. By law, ICE cannot enter your home without a search warrant. Even if you are undocumented, these rights apply to you. If ICE comes knocking on your door, you have the right to not answer the door. In the majority of cases, ICE will NOT have the proper search warrant issued by a court that will allow them to enter your home without your permission. Is it hard to look out of your front door and see ICE agents standing there wanting to come in and you refuse to let them in? Yes, it’s very hard. Most people will let the ICE agents in due to fear. But I’m telling you now that you can say ‘no’ and walk away from the door and not allow them to enter.
  5. You don’t have to speak to an ICE agent and can ask for an attorney before speaking to the agent. Again, is it hard to not answer questions directly asked of you from ICE agents and to say, I want to speak to my lawyer? Yes, it is hard. But you have the absolute right to ask to speak to a lawyer, and you should exercise that right.
  6. Even if you have lost in Immigration Court and have been issued a final order of deportation and believe you have no remedies, you must speak to an immigration attorney. Since the raids, many families, women and children have been saved from getting deported back to their dangerous countries after the cases were evaluated by immigration attorneys and professionals.

Be safe friends, and please get an evaluation of your case if you are in deportation proceedings or have a final order of deportation. As always, Gardner & Mendoza is here to help our community find lawful solutions to their immigration issues. Give us a call at (757) 464-9224 or contact us online to schedule your consultation today.

Related posts:

  1. Watch Out for School Buses and School Zones
  2. Citizenship Day 2019
  3. Get Peace of Mind with Gardner & Mendoza
  4. One Good Reason You Need to Lawyer Up

Filed Under: Immigration Blog Articles

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Well, hard to believe… job done! I’m frank to admit I had no idea that it would be so involved compared to 10 years ago when I did the renewal myself. Happily I was fortunate enough to find the best people to help get it done this time. When I was a working stiff it was mostly as a field guy in sales & marketing. High tech communication in those days was a pay phone in customers’ lobbies, so someone back in the office skilled in dealing w/problems was absolutely essential when I couldn’t be contacted. Most of those who supported me that way were good at what they did, some were outstanding. None were better than you!! This tedious & sometimes worrisome process would have been unbearable without your keeping it, & me, on track. So we want to extend our thanks to you and Radlyn. Hoping for Gardner & Mendoza to continue the good work for many years to come. - Anonymous
Gardner and Mendoza Law Firm is a great law firm no matter what kind of situation you may be in! For example I had court today, John Gardner, my attorney represented me today and got the charged dismissed totally the first time we both appeared in front of the judge in Virginia Beach Traffic Court. He uses every bit of knowledge he can to help you get the best results!! He also works very well with Latinos! They have a Spanish speaking person in their office at all times!! - Sebastian
My husband and I had a great experience with Mrs. Mendoza. She provided excellent information and a sense of urgency with every step of our immigration process. Her team was always supportive in getting us the information we needed throughout the whole process. This legal firm also treats their clients with the highest levels of respect. In all of Virginia I would say that the Gardener & Mendoza team is the best recommendation for same sex immigration cases and for immigration cases in general. It was a pleasure to work with them. - Anonymous
I Highly Recommend Radlyn Mendoza, An Excellent Immigration Lawyer. My wife and I were very worried about my wife’s immigration and legal status. We were quite impressed with Attorney Mendoza during our initial consultation. She proved to be a smart, knowledgeable, and very capable immigration attorney. She and her staff were very helpful and responsive to all of our requests. Kudos to her and staff, especially Leesa, for successfully handling our case. Thanks for a job well done. - Thomas and Cheong W.
My daughter received a reckless driving ticket going 60 in a 35 mph zone, so understandably, I was very concerned. In court, Mr. Gardner was able to get the reckless driving charge and ticket completely dismissed due to his knowledge of what the police officer had to present in court. Mr. Gardner was a familiar face to the judge and the clerks in the Virginia Beach courthouse. When we contacted John Gardner’s office at Gardner & Mendoza, he and his staff made us feel comfortable by explaining the whole process to us. His track record and the reviews online helped make the decision to choose Mr. Gardner over other attorneys easy. I highly recommend Mr. Gardner. He gave us peace of mind and won the case too! - Michelle

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Our main law office is conveniently located in the Hilltop section of Virginia Beach, near Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital and Oceana Naval Base.

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