Queens Deportation Defense Lawyers

Last Updated on: 15th October 2025, 06:31 pm

Queens Deportation Defense Lawyers

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 50 years of combined experience defending Queens residents in deportation proceedings. If you’re here, it’s because you received a Notice to Appear or you’re in removal proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court.

Queens residents face deportation for many reasons. Overstaying visas. Entering without inspection. Criminal convictions ranging from DUI to drug possession to domestic violence. Marriage fraud allegations. Your case will be heard at Immigration Court at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan – judges there handle thousands of cases annually from Queens’ extraordinarily diverse communities. Chinese families and South Asian workers and Latin American families and Caribbean immigrants and African refugees all facing removal.

26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court

Queens deportation cases are heard at Immigration Court at 26 Federal Plaza, Room 1328 in downtown Manhattan. This court serves Brooklyn and Queens and Staten Island. Tens of thousands of pending cases. Master calendar hearings scheduled months apart. Individual hearings one to two years out, sometimes longer.

Judge assignment matters enormously. We’ve appeared before judges who grant relief frequently – asylum approval rates above 60%, cancellation of removal grants for applicants with strong equities. We’ve appeared before judges who rarely grant relief – asylum denials even with strong evidence, cancellation denials unless hardship is extreme. Immigration judges have different views on which types of persecution qualify, which countries are genuinely dangerous, how much weight to give rehabilitation after criminal convictions. We appear at 26 Federal Plaza regularly. We know the judges. We tailor our arguments to the assigned judge’s tendencies.

Asylum as a Defense to Deportation

Asylum protects people fleeing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, membership in particular social groups. Queens Immigration Court hears thousands of asylum cases annually. You must apply within one year of arrival unless exceptions apply – changed circumstances in your country, extraordinary circumstances preventing timely filing.

Last year we defended a Bangladeshi political activist from Jackson Heights in removal proceedings. He overstayed his visitor visa. ICE arrested him at home. Notice to Appear charged him with removability for overstaying. We filed for asylum – he’d organized protests against the government in Dhaka, was arrested twice, beaten by police, threatened with worse if he continued political activities. We gathered evidence – medical records documenting injuries, newspaper articles about government crackdowns on opposition, expert testimony about Bangladesh’s persecution of political dissidents. The immigration judge granted asylum after a five-hour individual hearing. Case closed. He’s now applying for his green card.

Cancellation of Removal

Cancellation of removal for non-permanent residents requires meeting strict criteria. Ten years continuous physical presence in the United States. Good moral character during those ten years. A qualifying relative – U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent, or child – who would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if you’re deported. Only 4,000 grants available nationwide annually. Extremely competitive.

What does exceptional and extremely unusual hardship mean? More than the normal hardship any family experiences when separated. We won a cancellation case last year for a Corona resident from Ecuador. She’d lived in Queens for 12 years. Entered without inspection. Her daughter was a U.S. citizen, seven years old, severe asthma requiring daily medication and frequent doctor visits. We showed the daughter couldn’t get equivalent medical care in Ecuador – lack of specialists in the mother’s rural hometown, medication unavailability, cost barriers. We documented the mother’s role as primary caregiver – she managed all medical appointments, administered treatments, monitored the child’s condition. We presented expert medical testimony that removing the child to Ecuador would create serious health risks. The judge granted cancellation after weighing the daughter’s exceptional hardship against the mother’s unlawful entry.

Cancellation of removal for permanent residents works differently. Requires five years as a permanent resident, seven years continuous residence, no aggravated felony conviction. Discretionary – judges weigh positive factors like family ties and rehabilitation against negative factors like criminal history severity.

Criminal Convictions and Deportation

Many Queens deportation cases involve criminal convictions. Certain convictions trigger removability. Aggravated felonies – broadly defined under immigration law, including many offenses that aren’t aggravated or felonies under criminal law. Crimes involving moral turpitude. Controlled substance violations. Firearms offenses. Domestic violence.

We represented a Flushing resident with a green card last month. DWI conviction from five years ago. ICE placed him in removal proceedings arguing the DWI was a crime involving moral turpitude. We challenged this using the categorical approach – analyzing whether the New York DWI statute categorically matches the immigration definition of moral turpitude. We argued it doesn’t – New York DWI requires only negligence, not the willful or reckless conduct required for moral turpitude. The immigration judge terminated proceedings. He kept his green card.

Post-conviction relief can help. Vacating convictions for reasons other than immigration consequences. If a conviction is vacated due to constitutional violations, ineffective assistance of counsel, or legal errors, it may no longer be a deportation ground. We work with Queens criminal attorneys to pursue post-conviction relief for clients in removal proceedings.

Adjustment of Status in Removal Proceedings

You can adjust status to permanent resident in removal proceedings if you have an approved family petition or employment petition and a visa number is available. Common for Queens residents with U.S. citizen spouses or approved employment-based petitions.

We defended a Richmond Hill resident from Guyana in removal proceedings last year. She overstayed her tourist visa. Married a U.S. citizen. He filed an I-130 petition. Approved. We filed for adjustment of status in Immigration Court. Had to prove the marriage was bona fide – joint lease, joint bank accounts, photos together, affidavits from friends and family, testimony from both spouses. Also had to prove she was admissible despite the overstay. The judge granted adjustment. She received her green card without leaving the United States.

Withholding of Removal and CAT Protection

Withholding of removal has a higher standard than asylum – must prove it’s more likely than not you’ll be persecuted if returned to your country. But no one-year filing deadline. Available when asylum is time-barred.

Convention Against Torture protection works if you’ll more likely than not be tortured by or with government acquiescence if returned to your country. Available even for people with serious criminal convictions who can’t get asylum or withholding. Doesn’t lead to a green card, but prevents deportation to the country where torture would occur.

We won CAT protection for an Elmhurst resident from Honduras last year. He had an aggravated felony conviction – barred from asylum and withholding. But he’d been a police officer in Honduras, witnessed corruption, reported it to superiors. Corrupt officers threatened him. We gathered evidence showing he’d likely be tortured if returned – his police background made him a target, Honduras’ inability to control police corruption, country conditions evidence documenting torture of former officers. The judge granted CAT protection. He remains in the United States, cannot be removed to Honduras, but doesn’t have a path to a green card.

ICE Detention and Bond

Some Queens residents in deportation proceedings are detained at ICE facilities. Mandatory detention applies to certain criminal convictions and prior removal orders. If not subject to mandatory detention, you can request bond.

Immigration judges conduct bond hearings considering flight risk and danger to community. We present evidence of community ties – family in Queens, employment, property ownership, church membership, rehabilitation since criminal conviction. Bonds typically range from $5,000 to $25,000, sometimes higher. If the judge denies bond or sets an excessive amount, we appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals or file habeas corpus in federal district court.

Why We Handle These Cases

Todd Spodek is a second-generation attorney – his father practiced law before him. After graduating from Pace Law School, Todd started appearing in courts throughout New York daily. He’s represented clients in high-profile cases including Anna Delvey – the case that became a Netflix series. Our firm has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Bloomberg.

We defend Queens residents in deportation proceedings from every community. Asylum seekers fleeing persecution. Workers with overstayed visas. Green card holders with criminal convictions. Families facing separation. Whether you’re in removal proceedings at 26 Federal Plaza or received a Notice to Appear – call us. We’re available 24/7.