An arrest in Texas is not just a criminal matter for immigrants. It is an immigration event — one that can result in deportation, denial of a green card, permanent loss of lawful permanent residency, or a lifetime bar from the United States, regardless of whether a formal criminal conviction ever occurs.

This is not an exaggeration. A guilty plea to a charge that a criminal defense attorney presents as a minor resolution — a misdemeanor, a deferred adjudication, even a dismissed charge in certain circumstances — can trigger mandatory deportation for a permanent resident who has lived legally in the United States for 20 years.

If you or a family member has been arrested, charged, or convicted of any criminal offense and has any immigration status or pending immigration case, this guide covers what you need to understand immediately.

How the Criminal and Immigration Systems Intersect

Immigration law and criminal law operate on separate legal tracks, but they intersect at every major stage of the immigration process. The U.S. government — through USCIS, ICE, and the immigration courts — reviews criminal history at:

  • Every application for a green card, whether through adjustment of status or consular processing
  • Every naturalization (N-400) application
  • Every visa renewal or change of status application
  • Every USCIS interview at a field office, including the San Antonio USCIS office at 8940 Fourwinds Drive
  • Every port of entry, including when returning to the U.S. from international travel — even a short trip
  • Every removal proceeding before an immigration judge at the San Antonio Immigration Court

A criminal record that appears resolved in Texas criminal court — through a plea deal, deferred adjudication, dismissal, or even an expungement — may remain fully visible and fully operative in immigration proceedings. This disconnect between Texas criminal law and federal immigration law is one of the most dangerous gaps in the system for immigrant defendants.

Texas expungements do not erase criminal records from federal immigration databases. USCIS and ICE access records that Texas courts seal or expunge. An expunged arrest still appears on your immigration record and must still be disclosed on immigration applications.

Crimes That Trigger Deportation

Federal immigration law defines several categories of criminal offenses that render a non-citizen deportable or inadmissible. The two most significant categories are aggravated felonies and crimes involving moral turpitude.

Aggravated Felonies

The term “aggravated felony” in immigration law is misleading — it does not mean only felonies, and it does not require that a crime be considered aggravated under state law. The federal immigration definition is its own list, defined in INA § 101(a)(43), and it includes offenses that many people would consider minor.

Aggravated felonies under immigration law include:

  • Murder, rape, and sexual abuse of a minor
  • Drug trafficking offenses — including convictions where the sentence was one year or more, even if suspended
  • Firearms trafficking and certain firearms offenses
  • Theft or burglary where the sentence imposed was one year or more — including suspended sentences
  • Fraud or deceit offenses where the loss to the victim exceeded $10,000
  • Money laundering of more than $10,000
  • Crimes of violence where the sentence imposed was one year or more
  • Obstruction of justice, perjury, and certain bribery offenses where the sentence was one year or more

An aggravated felony conviction results in mandatory deportation with no discretionary relief available. There is no cancellation of removal, no asylum, and no adjustment of status for someone convicted of an aggravated felony. The immigration judge has no discretion to consider family ties, length of residence, or any other equitable factor. Mandatory means mandatory.

Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMTs)

Crimes involving moral turpitude — commonly referred to as CIMTs — are a broader and less precisely defined category covering offenses that are considered inherently dishonest, base, or depraved. Immigration courts look at the nature of the offense, not just its label under state law.

Common Texas offenses that immigration courts treat as CIMTs include:

  • Theft, fraud, and embezzlement
  • Assault involving intent to cause bodily harm
  • Domestic violence
  • Prostitution
  • Robbery
  • Attempted murder
  • Certain drug offenses

A single CIMT committed within five years of admission to the United States — or two CIMTs at any time — can render a non-citizen deportable. CIMTs also create inadmissibility bars that can prevent a person from obtaining a green card or returning to the United States after international travel.

Drug Offenses

Any conviction related to a controlled substance — with one narrow exception for a single offense involving possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana for personal use — renders a non-citizen both deportable and inadmissible. This applies to state convictions under Texas law as well as federal convictions.

A conviction for simple possession of a small amount of marijuana — a charge Texas criminal courts treat as a minor matter — is a deportable offense under federal immigration law. Drug trafficking convictions are aggravated felonies and trigger mandatory deportation.

Domestic Violence Offenses

Federal immigration law has specific deportation grounds for domestic violence convictions, violations of domestic violence protective orders, and child abuse. A conviction for domestic violence — including a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction — renders a non-citizen deportable and bars them from obtaining lawful permanent residency.

This applies regardless of the citizen’s or permanent resident’s relationship to the victim, the severity of the offense under Texas law, or whether the conviction is subsequently expunged.

How Plea Deals Cause Deportation

This is the issue that creates the most preventable immigration disasters for Texas immigrants, and it happens constantly.

A criminal defense attorney’s primary obligation is to achieve the best outcome in the criminal case. That attorney may not be an immigration attorney and may not understand the immigration consequences of a particular plea. They negotiate a plea that results in a reduced charge, deferred adjudication, or a sentence that avoids jail time — and from a purely criminal law perspective, that is a good result.

From an immigration law perspective, the result may be catastrophic.

Consider these scenarios that occur regularly in Texas criminal courts:

Scenario 1 — Theft: An immigrant is charged with theft. The criminal defense attorney negotiates a plea to misdemeanor theft with 12 months deferred adjudication and no jail time. The client is satisfied. The deferred adjudication is considered a conviction under federal immigration law. Misdemeanor theft is a crime involving moral turpitude. The client is now deportable and inadmissible.

Scenario 2 — Assault: An immigrant is charged with felony assault. The attorney negotiates it down to misdemeanor assault with a sentence of one year, suspended. The client does not serve any jail time. Under federal immigration law, a crime of violence with a sentence of one year or more — even if suspended — is an aggravated felony. The client is subject to mandatory deportation.

Scenario 3 — Drug possession: An immigrant is charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana. The attorney negotiates deferred adjudication. The client completes the term, the case is dismissed, and the record is later expunged under Texas law. The expungement does not remove the record from federal immigration databases. The deferred adjudication is treated as a conviction under immigration law. The client is deportable on drug offense grounds.

The U.S. Supreme Court held in Padilla v. Kentucky (2010) that criminal defense attorneys have a constitutional obligation to advise non-citizen clients of the immigration consequences of a guilty plea. Despite this ruling, immigration-consequence advice in Texas criminal courts remains inconsistent.

If you are a non-citizen facing criminal charges in Texas, you must consult an immigration attorney before accepting any plea deal — regardless of how minor the charge appears.

How Criminal History Affects Pending Immigration Applications

Criminal history does not only affect people in removal proceedings. It affects every immigration benefit application filed by a non-citizen.

Green card applications (I-485 or consular processing): Every arrest, charge, or conviction must be disclosed on Form I-485 and the DS-260 (consular processing form). USCIS and consular officers conduct background checks and cross-reference federal, state, and local law enforcement databases. Failure to disclose is treated as willful misrepresentation — a separate and independent ground of inadmissibility that can permanently bar a person from receiving any immigration benefit.

Naturalization (N-400): Applicants must demonstrate good moral character for the three or five years preceding the application — and for some offenses, permanently. Certain criminal convictions create a permanent bar to naturalization. Others create a conditional bar during the statutory period. USCIS reviews the full criminal history, not just convictions.

Visa renewals and changes of status: Criminal history discovered during a visa renewal or change of status application can trigger inadmissibility findings that prevent approval and lead to referral to ICE.

Travel outside the United States: A lawful permanent resident with a criminal record who departs the United States risks being found inadmissible at the port of entry upon return — even if they have lived in the U.S. for decades. Certain criminal convictions are treated as abandonment of lawful permanent residency. Others trigger mandatory detention and removal proceedings at the border. A trip that was meant to last two weeks can result in years of separation.

What Options Exist After a Criminal Conviction

Not every criminal conviction results in deportation, and not every path is closed. Options depend entirely on the specific offense, the sentence, the timing relative to the immigration history, and the individual’s current immigration status.

Section 212(h) Waiver

A 212(h) waiver can forgive certain grounds of inadmissibility based on criminal history — including some crimes involving moral turpitude and certain other offenses — for applicants who can demonstrate that denial would cause extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent, child, or sibling. The 212(h) waiver is not available for drug trafficking offenses, murder, torture, or most aggravated felony convictions.

Post-Conviction Relief

In some cases, it is possible to challenge the underlying criminal conviction — through a motion to withdraw a guilty plea, a writ of habeas corpus, or other post-conviction relief — on the grounds that the defendant was not adequately advised of the immigration consequences before pleading guilty. If the conviction is vacated, the immigration consequences may fall away with it. This requires coordination between a criminal law attorney and an immigration attorney working simultaneously.

Cancellation of Removal

For permanent residents in removal proceedings who have held that status for at least five years, have been continuously present in the United States for at least seven years, and have not been convicted of an aggravated felony — cancellation of removal is a discretionary form of relief that an immigration judge can grant. It is not available if the conviction is an aggravated felony.

Asylum and Other Humanitarian Relief

Certain criminal convictions bar asylum. Others do not. If you have a criminal record and also have a claim for asylum or other humanitarian relief, the interaction between those two facts requires careful legal analysis.

What to Do If You or a Family Member Is Arrested

The decisions made in the first 48 hours after an arrest can determine whether an immigration case survives.

Do not accept a plea deal before speaking with an immigration attorney. The criminal defense attorney handling your case may not understand immigration law. Get an immigration attorney involved before any plea is entered.

Do not speak to ICE agents or sign any documents without consulting an attorney. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to speak with an attorney before answering questions. Exercise both of those rights.

Do not travel outside the United States if you have a pending criminal case, an active criminal conviction, or any uncertainty about how your criminal history interacts with your immigration status. Departure can trigger inadmissibility bars and can result in being denied re-entry at the border.

Disclose everything accurately on immigration applications. Concealment of criminal history is treated as willful misrepresentation — which creates a permanent bar independent of the underlying offense. Disclosure with a strong legal explanation is almost always a better outcome than non-disclosure followed by discovery.

If you or a family member has been arrested and has an active immigration case, a pending green card application, or any current immigration status — contact an immigration attorney immediately. The Echavarria Law Firm handles deportation defense, removal proceedings at the San Antonio Immigration Court, and waivers for individuals whose immigration cases have been affected by criminal history. Call (210) 320-5633. Every consultation is confidential and available in English and Spanish.