Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

(A)  Proving Prejudice.  It is important for petitioner to develop as much independent, credible, objective evidence as possible supporting petitioner’s claim that s/he would not have pleaded guilty if properly informed of the drastic immigration consequences of the plea.[184]

Corroborating evidence may include the choice to file the habeas petition itself, since petitioner now understands that if the petition prevails, the original criminal charges will be reinstated in full and that, in addition to the immigration consequences, criminal consequences potentially greater than those already suffered may be imposed.  The present willingness to undertake these risks is compelling corroborative evidence that petitioner would have accepted the very same risks in the original criminal proceedings if the petitioner had then been aware of all the consequences of the situation.

[184] Declarations may be obtained from original defense counsel, friends and family of the accused, new defense counsel, and immigration counsel in order to corroborate the petitioner’s declaration.