WDA’s Immigration Project Is Assisting with Postconviction Relief for Noncitizens in Washington State

Since 1983, defense counsel has had a duty to inform clients about the immigration consequences of their plea; however, that duty was misunderstood by many attorneys as being outside of the scope of their representation as it was viewed as a collateral consequence of a conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Padilla underscored that it was not a collateral consequence and that no advice or false advice would be grounds for appeal. Now, WDA is helping individuals who did not get immigration advice and who had adverse immigration consequences get back into court.

In partnership with the with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Redemption Project Washington will focus on getting noncitizen clients back into court to remedy the adverse immigration consequences that came from their criminal convictions. At WDA, we have an attorney providing support and advice to attorneys working on postconviction relief for noncitizen clients.

You can reach Sarah Hudson, WDA Immigration Resentencing Resource Attorney, at [email protected]. Sarah is available to assist with training and to consult on postconviction relief cases. For more information click here.