Generally speaking, prosecutorial discretion is the authority of an agency
or official to decide what types of charges should be filed, if any, and
how to handle or pursue each case. In immigration cases, prosecutorial
discretion is the power of the federal government to decline to deport
individuals in certain circumstances. More specifically, the government
has the power to decline to place an individual in deportation proceedings,
delay removal, or terminate removal proceedings altogether. It is this
discretion that can land one immigrant in a detention center and place
another back into his or her community with work authorization while his
or her case is pending. Some of the factors that may cause the government
to use prosecutorial discretion in immigration cases are the length of
time that an individual has been in the United States, the ties of the
individual to his or her community, the existence of family members in
the United States. The federal government has increasingly focused its
immigration enforcement efforts on immigrants who have committed crimes,
rather than those immigrants with a complete absence of criminal behavior.
Immigration authorities may exercise prosecutorial discretion on a case-by-case
basis, or on an agency-wide level based on certain policies. The exercise
of prosecutorial discretion on a broader scale is often dependent on the
political leanings of the current administration and the policies that
they choose to implement. For example, at one point, USCIS opted to generally
allow surviving spouses and children of deceased U.S. citizens to apply
for deferred action, even though they no longer were eligible to seek
permanent resident status. No matter whether prosecutorial discretion
is a possibility in your case or not, we are here to help you during your
deportation proceedings and avoid deportation. We are experienced California
deportation defense lawyers who know immigration law and know how to effectively
represent your interests in your deportation case. We will build a strong
case for any and all defenses that are available on your behalf.
Call our office today
and learn what the attorneys of Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., can do
to help you and your family.
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