Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions 101 – Overview of Basic Concepts

Program Description

This one-hour seminar will go over the fundamentals of immigration consequences of criminal convictions. This includes an overview of what types of consequences are triggered by criminal convictions, what types of consequences are triggered by other contact with the criminal legal system, what constitutes a “conviction” for immigration purposes, what information is needed to do a competent immigration consequences analysis, and the duties of California defense attorneys as far as investigating and advising on immigration matters. The seminar will provide a basic overview of the criminals ground of inadmissibility as well as the criminal grounds of deportability and explain how advocates can determine which grounds may apply, and familiarize attendees with “crim/imm” terms such as “aggravated felony,” and “crime involving moral turpitude.”

About the Speaker

Raha Jorjani is a detention and deportation defense attorney and runs the Immigration Representation Unit of the Office of the Alameda County Public Defender. From 2007 until 2014, Raha served as a Clinical Professor at the UC Davis School of Law in the immigration law clinic. In 2015, she taught the first course offered at the UC Berkeley School of Law dedicated to “Crimmigration.” Since 2005, Raha has provided pro bono representation and legal assistance to hundreds of immigrants – detained and non-detained - before the Immigration Courts, BIA, U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, and California state courts.



Also see:
Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions – Advanced Session

Wed Apr 2nd 2025, 12:00 pm PDT

Q: Are these trainings geared towards defense attorneys or immigration attorneys?

A:  A little of both.  Criminal Defense attorneys will gain a basic understanding of legal concepts (part 1/Overview of Basic Concepts) and become familiar with strategies for protecting noncitizens from the most severe immigration consequences (part 2/Advanced Session). Immigration Attorneys will gain a basic understanding of how to determine potential immigration consequences for clients who have had contact with the criminal legal system in CA, and become familiar with post-conviction relief strategies that may be used to eliminate or mitigate consequences faced by clients as a result of prior convictions.