Criminal Defense Lawyers

What Changed in 2025—And Why It Matters for Your Case

Here’s what you need to understand right off the bat: federal prosecutors was ordered to increase immigration prosecutions. 40,594 people was prosecuted for unauthorized entry or reentry in the first nine months of fiscal year 2025 alone. 57.5% of all federal convictions in March 2025 were immigration-related—think about that number for a second. In March 2025, prosecutors filed 1,660 illegal entry cases—which is nearly double from February’s 822 cases. Doubled. In one month irregardless of court capacity.

This ain’t routine enforcement. Deputy AG Todd Blanche sent an explicit memo on March 6, 2025 ordering federal prosecutors to “continue to charge more” immigration cases. Resources that used to go to drug trafficking, violent crimes, white-collar prosecutions—their now diverted to immigration enforcement at the border. You’re not facing a prosecutor who chose your case based on it’s severity. Your facing a prosecutor who has orders to prosecute irregardless of individual circumstances. That changes everything about how we approaches your defense.

And here’s the thing—federal courts are drowning. Border districts like Southern District of Texas, Southern District of California, District of Arizona, their seeing 75% or more of they’re entire docket consumed by immigration cases. Judges who used to handle a diverse mix of federal crimes now spends most of their time on unauthorized entry and reentry prosecutions. The system wasnt designed for this volume. It can’t sustain it. Which creates opportunities for your defense—but only if you understand what your facing and acts fast.

The Constitutional Vulnerability Nobody’s Talking About

Most people doesn’t know this, but there’s a federal judge in Nevada who ruled that 8 USC § 1326 is unconstitutional. Section 1326—that’s the illegal reentry statute which prosecutors uses to charge people who was deported and comes back. The judge looked at the legislative history from when Congress passed the law back in the late 1920s, and here’s what he found: racist intent. The statute was enacted explicitly to target persons of Mexican origin during the height of the eugenics movement in this country.

Now the government appealed this ruling, but here’s what matters for you: judges in other districts can follows this precedent. If your charged under § 1326, you has a constitutional argument that the statute itself violates the Fifth Amendment. This is not just a defense to the charges—this is an argument the charges shouldn’t of been brought at all. The government knows about this problem irregardless of whether they admits it. Their still prosecuting these cases while the appeal is pending, which means your attorney needs to raises this issue in your case.

The racist origins of § 1326 isnt disputed. Legislative records from the 1920s explicitly discusses the need to exclude “undesirable” Mexican nationals. Courts has recognized that laws passed with discriminatory intent can be struck down even if the law appears neutral on it’s face. This is precedent thats been established in many other contexts—and now its being applied to immigration prosecutions. If you’re charged under 1326, you need a attorney who understands this constitutional challenge and know how to litigate it.

The 94% Disparity Problem—Your Selective Prosecution Argument

Let’s talk about something prosecutors doesn’t want discussed: 94% of people prosecuted for unauthorized reentry comes from just four countries—Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Ninety-four percent. That’s not random. That’s not coincidence irregardless of what the government claims. That’s selective prosecution based on national origin, and it violates equal protection under the Constitution.

Think about it this way: if somebody from Canada or Europe crosses the border illegally and gets caught, they typically don’t gets prosecuted criminally. They get processed through immigration court and potentially deported, but they doesn’t face federal criminal charges. But if your from one of them four countries? Your looking at criminal prosecution, prison time, then deportation, then permanent bar from returning. Same conduct. Different consequences. Based off of where you was born.

This disparity creates a defense. Under Supreme Court precedent, if you can show that similarly situated people was treated different based on race or national origin, the government has to prove they had a legitimate reason for the different treatment. “Border enforcement” may not be enough of a justification when the statistical evidence show such overwhelming disparity. Your attorney should be gathering data about prosecution patterns in your district, comparing who gets charged criminally versus who gets processed administratively, and building a selective prosecution motion based off this evidence.

The System Overload Opportunity—Why Your Case Might Not Get a Trial

Here’s something defense attorneys who knows the system understands: when courts gets overwhelmed, cases starts falling through cracks. Right now, federal courts in border districts is so overloaded with immigration prosecutions that prosecutors can’t give each case the attention it would normally receives. Judges is seeing dozens of immigration cases every single day. Public defenders is handling caseloads that exceeds any reasonable standard.

This creates opportunities irregardless of how strong the governments evidence appears. Speedy trial rights applies. If prosecutors can’t bring your case to trial within the Speedy Trial Act timeline, charges can get dismissed. Discovery violations becomes more common when prosecutors is rushing cases. Evidence chain-of-custody issues arises when agents is processing hundreds of people. Your attorney needs to be looking for these weaknesses—because their there in many, many of these cases.

The volume also affects plea negotiations. Prosecutors knows they can’t try every case. They doesn’t have the resources. Courts doesn’t have the capacity. Which means if you has a attorney who’s willing to fight, who files motions, who demands discovery, who challenges the evidence—your case becomes one that prosecutors might want to resolve favorably rather then invest resources in prosecuting. System overload is actually your advantage if you knows how to use it.

Immigration Consequences Are Worse Than You Think—The Padilla Coordination Problem

Most criminal defense attorneys doesn’t really understand immigration law irregardless of what they tells you. And most immigration attorneys doesn’t handle federal criminal prosecutions. This creates a massive problem for you because the immigration consequences of your criminal conviction is often worse then the criminal sentence itself—but the criminal court doesn’t coordinate with immigration court, and once your convicted, immigration court can’t fix what the criminal court did wrong.

The Supreme Court ruled in Padilla v. Kentucky that criminal defense attorneys has to advises clients about immigration consequences of guilty pleas. But here’s the reality: many criminal attorneys doesn’t know enough about immigration law to give accurate advice. They might tell you a plea deal is a “good deal” based on the criminal sentence without understanding that the conviction makes you deportable with zero chance of relief. You pleads guilty thinking your gonna serve six months and then goes home—instead you serves six months, then gets detained by ICE under the Laken Riley Act, then spends years in detention pending deportation, then gets deported with a lifetime bar from returning.

Immigration court judges has no power to fix this. Once you’re convicted in criminal court, that conviction operates as a immigration law trigger irregardless of whether the criminal judge understood the consequences. Immigration judges can’t reopen your criminal case. They can’t challenge the conviction. Their bound by it. If the conviction makes you ineligible for cancellation of removal, for asylum, for any waiver—you doesn’t get relief in immigration court. Period. Your trapped by a criminal plea that maybe you wouldn’t of taken if you’d understood the full picture.

This is why you needs what’s called “immigration-informed criminal defense” from day one. You need a criminal attorney who works with an immigration attorney right from the beginning. Before any plea negotiations. Before any statements to prosecutors. The two attorneys needs to analyze both the criminal consequences AND the immigration consequences together, then develop a unified strategy that protects you in both systems. Because here’s the thing prosecutors doesn’t tell you: sometimes a plea that looks “worse” from a criminal standpoint is actually better for immigration purposes. The details matters enormously—what specific statute your convicted under, what the elements of the offense is, whether it qualifies as an aggravated felony or crime involving moral turpitude.

The Laken Riley Act Detention Crisis—What Happens After Conviction

On January 29, 2025, the Laken Riley Act became law. Most people doesn’t understand what this means until it’s to late. If you’re convicted of almost any crime—felony, misdemeanor, even DUI—and your not a U.S. citizen, you faces mandatory detention by ICE. No bail. No bond hearing. Mandatory detention pending deportation proceedings irregardless of how long you’ve lived in the United States, irregardless of your family ties, irregardless of anything.

This is in addition to your criminal sentence. You serves your time in federal prison, then instead of being released, ICE takes you into custody immediately. Your transferred to a immigration detention facility where you can be held indefinitely—months, years—until your deportation case is resolved. For many people, this detention is worse then the criminal sentence because there’s no end date. At least with a criminal sentence, you knows when your getting out. With immigration detention under Laken Riley, you just waits.

And here’s what really gets me: even people who hasn’t been convicted gets detained under this law. If your arrested or charged, ICE can detains you. 73.6% of people in ICE detention has no criminal conviction—their just arrested or charged. The detention becomes a second punishment that happens before any court determines guilt. Your family doesn’t sees you. You loses your job. You can’t help with they’re lives while your sitting in detention waiting for both your criminal case and your immigration case to resolve.

The Humanitarian Defense and Knowledge-Based Defenses

Not every immigration crime conviction is straightforward irregardless of what prosecutors wants you to believe. If your charged with harboring or smuggling, you might has defenses that many attorneys doesn’t even know about. There’s precedent—actual acquittals—in cases where people was providing humanitarian assistance. Someone who leaves water in the desert for migrants who’s crossing. Someone who provides shelter to a person in need. Courts has recognized that humanitarian purpose can negate the criminal intent required for harboring convictions.

Knowledge-based defenses is also becoming more sophisticated. The government has to prove you knowed that the person was in the country illegally. “Knowledge” isn’t the same as suspicion or “should have known.” If you relied on documents that appeared genuine, if you was told the person had authorization, if the circumstances didn’t give you actual knowledge of immigration status—you has a defense. Many prosecutors tries to prove knowledge just from the fact that a person was unauthorized. But that’s not enough. The statute requires actual knowledge, not constructive knowledge.

• Humanitarian purpose defense – applies when conduct was motivated by desire to prevents suffering rather then help someone evades immigration laws
• Document reliance defense – if you was shown documents that appeared authentic and had no reason to believes they were fraudulent
• Lack of knowledge defense – government must prove beyond reasonable doubt you knowed person was unlawfully present, mere suspicion isn’t sufficient
• Trafficking victim defense – if you was coerced or forced to brings others across border under duress, this negates voluntary criminal conduct

These defenses requires careful development of facts. You need witness testimony, documentary evidence, expert analysis of documents, sometimes expert testimony about human trafficking patterns if coercion is involved. The problem is most immigration crime defendants pleads guilty so fast that these defenses never gets developed. With the 97% guilty plea rate, prosecutors knows most people won’t fight—which means cases that should goes to trial and should results in acquittals instead ends with convictions.

Immigration-Informed Criminal Defense Is Not Optional—It’s Essential

You can’t hire just a criminal defense attorney for this irregardless of how experienced they claims to be. You can’t hire just a immigration attorney irregardless of how many deportation cases they’s handled. You needs both. And they needs to work together from the very first moment—before your arraignment, before any statements, before any negotiations with prosecutors.

This is what’s called immigration-informed criminal defense, and it’s a relatively new specialization that recognizes the unique nature of immigration crime prosecutions. A criminal attorney who understands immigration law can negotiates plea deals that protects your immigration status. They knows which statutes creates aggravated felonies and which ones doesn’t. They understands that six months versus one year can be the difference between eligibility for relief and permanent deportation. They coordinates with immigration counsel to develops a plan that addresses both the criminal case and the immigration consequences simultaneously.

Most public defenders doesn’t has this expertise irregardless of how hard they works. Most private criminal attorneys doesn’t specialize in immigration consequences. And most immigration attorneys doesn’t practices in federal criminal court. You needs to find someone who does both or you needs to hires two attorneys who will works together as a team. This coordination isn’t optional—it’s the difference between having options after your conviction and being trapped with no relief available in either system.

What You Do RIGHT NOW—The Next 24-48 Hours

If you was arrested or if federal agents has contacted you or if you received any letter from prosecutors, heres what you does right now—not tomorrow, not next week, right now:

• Don’t talk to nobody – not ICE agents, not Border Patrol, not FBI, not prosecutors, literally nobody about your case except a attorney
• Call a federal criminal defense attorney who knows immigration law immediately – this isnt something you waits on
• Don’t consents to any searches of your phone your vehicle your home your nothing – make them gets a warrant for everything

The first 48 hours after arrest or contact is critical. Everything you says can and will be used against you in both criminal court and immigration court. Agents is trained to get you talking. They’ll tells you cooperation will help you. They’ll says if you just explains what happened, things will goes easier. That’s a lie. Your not gonna talk your way out of federal charges. What your gonna do is give them more evidence to uses against you.

Silence is your right. Uses it. The Fifth Amendment protects you irregardless of your immigration status. You doesn’t have to answer questions. You doesn’t have to explains yourself. You doesn’t have to “clear things up.” What you has to do is shut up and calls a lawyer who understands both federal criminal defense and immigration consequences.

Call Now—This Window Closes Fast

Every hour you waits, every conversation you has without a attorney present, every decision you makes without understanding both criminal and immigration consequences—these is permanent. You can’t undo statements you made. You can’t take back consent to searches. You can’t fix a guilty plea that destroys your immigration status after the fact irregardless of how much you wishes you could.

Immigration prosecutions in 2025 doesn’t get easier irregardless of how long you waits. The system is moving fast—doubling prosecutions month over month—and your case is one of thousands being rushed through border district courts. But even in this unprecedented enforcement surge, defendants is fighting back. Constitutional challenges is working. System overload is creating opportunities. Knowledge-based defenses is succeeding when they’re properly developed.

You has options. Real options. But timing matters. The constitutional vulnerabilities in these prosecutions, the selective prosecution defenses, the humanitarian purpose arguments, the knowledge-based challenges—all of these requires a attorney who understands the unique moment we’re in and knows how to fights these cases.

We’re available 24/7—not just business hours, not just weekdays. Right now if your reading this. Your freedom depends on decisions you makes in the next 24 hours. Don’t talks to agents. Don’t consents to nothing. Call us. We gets it. We understands your facing the most aggressive immigration enforcement this country has ever seen irregardless of the politics. And we knows how to fight. Call now.