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An illegal alien residing in Incline Village who recently was found guilty of a second DUI doesn’t have a good chance at staying in the United States, two immigration attorneys said.
Alan D. Hutchinson, an immigration lawyer in Reno, said based on information given to him about the case of illegal Guatemalan immigrant Antonio Sandoval-Perez, it looks like the Incline resident will be deported.
Herbert Santos, another Reno-based immigration attorney, said two DUI offenses equal trouble for any hope Sandoval-Perez has of staying in the United States.
Sandoval-Perez was arrested March 18 for DUI, his second drunken driving offense. He was subsequently sent to the Washoe County detention facility in Reno, where agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency took him into custody. From there, Sandoval-Perez made a journey of hundreds of miles to Florence, Ariz., where he spent a month at an immigration holding facility.
From there Sandoval-Perez, with the help of friend and Incline resident Chuck Meyer, was able to secure his release from the facility through bail and returned to Incline to face an April 22 DUI hearing.
He pleaded guilty to a second-offense DUI at the hearing and was sentenced to community service, fines, in-home confinement and more.
Now Sandoval-Perez must face an immigration judge, and Hutchinson said there is a slim chance he will be allowed to stay.
“It’s almost impossible for him to stay; if he has a good lawyer he can maybe get an extra two years here, but he’ll probably be deported,” Hutchinson said.
Even the fact Sandoval-Perez’s 3-year-old son Dylan is an American citizen probably won’t change an immigration judge’s mind, Santos said.
“Unless he could prove the child is in poor health that can’t be treated in Guatemala, he’s got big problems,” Santos said. “He’s in trouble.”
Hutchinson said any time an immigrant who entered without inspection is picked up for a crime, no matter how small, a reason for deportation has already been established.
“Any time an EWI is picked up there is already grounds for deportation because they entered illegally, the act of crossing the border without being checked is already a crime,” Hutchinson said. “Things in Guatemala are really bad, but he would have to prove he would be in danger or his child would have to have a serious medical condition for a judge to let him stay.”
A date for Sandoval-Perez’s trial has not yet been set, Meyer said.
He said Sandoval-Perez has hired the Law Offices of Anthony Pelloni, an Arizona-based law firm, to defend him. Meyer also said Sandoval-Perez is requesting his trial be moved to Reno so he can be near his family instead of Arizona.
Alan D. Hutchinson, an immigration lawyer in Reno, said based on information given to him about the case of illegal Guatemalan immigrant Antonio Sandoval-Perez, it looks like the Incline resident will be deported.
Herbert Santos, another Reno-based immigration attorney, said two DUI offenses equal trouble for any hope Sandoval-Perez has of staying in the United States.
Sandoval-Perez was arrested March 18 for DUI, his second drunken driving offense. He was subsequently sent to the Washoe County detention facility in Reno, where agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency took him into custody. From there, Sandoval-Perez made a journey of hundreds of miles to Florence, Ariz., where he spent a month at an immigration holding facility.
From there Sandoval-Perez, with the help of friend and Incline resident Chuck Meyer, was able to secure his release from the facility through bail and returned to Incline to face an April 22 DUI hearing.
He pleaded guilty to a second-offense DUI at the hearing and was sentenced to community service, fines, in-home confinement and more.
Now Sandoval-Perez must face an immigration judge, and Hutchinson said there is a slim chance he will be allowed to stay.
“It’s almost impossible for him to stay; if he has a good lawyer he can maybe get an extra two years here, but he’ll probably be deported,” Hutchinson said.
Even the fact Sandoval-Perez’s 3-year-old son Dylan is an American citizen probably won’t change an immigration judge’s mind, Santos said.
“Unless he could prove the child is in poor health that can’t be treated in Guatemala, he’s got big problems,” Santos said. “He’s in trouble.”
Hutchinson said any time an immigrant who entered without inspection is picked up for a crime, no matter how small, a reason for deportation has already been established.
“Any time an EWI is picked up there is already grounds for deportation because they entered illegally, the act of crossing the border without being checked is already a crime,” Hutchinson said. “Things in Guatemala are really bad, but he would have to prove he would be in danger or his child would have to have a serious medical condition for a judge to let him stay.”
A date for Sandoval-Perez’s trial has not yet been set, Meyer said.
He said Sandoval-Perez has hired the Law Offices of Anthony Pelloni, an Arizona-based law firm, to defend him. Meyer also said Sandoval-Perez is requesting his trial be moved to Reno so he can be near his family instead of Arizona.
