Admitting to Crime
In deportation proceedings, you should not admit to a crime at the master calendar hearing. It is not your burden and it is not your responsibility to admit to the crime. First, the Immigration Judge will be asking whether you admit to the allegations in the Notice to Appear. Assuming you have an california immigration lawyer representing you at the hearing that Immigration Attorney should not admit to the crime.
Deny Crimes in the NTA
Again, assuming that you have a deportation lawyer representing you, he or she should simply DENY the allegation that you committed a crime. If the Immigration Judge asks you or your attorney whether you ‘committed’ the crime, you should deny answering and claim the 5th.
Procedure at the Master Calendar when the Crimes are Listed
• The Notice to Appear of the NTA will list all the grounds that make you inadmissible;
• Part of the Notice to Appear will list what convictions Immigration believes you have and what was the sentence and under what area of Immigration and Nationality Law makes you inadmissible or deportable;
• The Immigration Judge will then go down each allegation in the NTA in order to make a ruling as to whether you are inadmissible and/or removable;
• The Immigration Judge will specifically ask whether you admit to the allegations of the crime. For example, let’s say that item 3 in the NTA states: “Respondent was convicted of buglary in the 2nd degree with a sentence of 6 months at Mariposa County, Arizona and is removal under section 240… of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”.
• You or your california deportation lawyer would then simply deny allegation number 3.
• If the Immigration Judge requests information on whether you committed the crime, you would claim the 5th against self incrimination.
• If the Immigration Judge stated that this is not a criminal proceeding, you would state there is a burden of proof not met by the government and that you cannot be forced to admit to the crime.
• Afterwards, the immigration judge will set the case over for a contested hearing for the government to bring in sufficient proof that in fact you were convicted of that crime and are inadmissible.
• If at the contested hearing there is not sufficient evidence to proceeding forward, you can request the case in Immigration Court be terminated.
