Deportation Defense

What is at stake

Removal proceedings are not paperwork. They are a federal trial in which the U.S. government's lawyer is trying to deport you. There is no right to appointed counsel in immigration court. Unrepresented respondents are removed at roughly five times the rate of represented respondents (TRAC, 2026). Mendoza Immigration appears in EOIR courts in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Phoenix.

Forms of relief in immigration court

• Cancellation of removal for LPRs (INA § 240A(a)) — five years of LPR status, seven of continuous residence, no aggravated felony.
• Cancellation of removal for non-LPRs (INA § 240A(b)) — ten years of physical presence, good moral character, no disqualifying conviction, and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or child.
• Asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection.
• Adjustment of status in court when an I-130 is approved and a visa is current.
• 212(c) and 212(h) waivers for older convictions.
• Voluntary departure to preserve future eligibility.
• Motions to terminate, reopen, or reconsider under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.23.

Why admissibility analysis controls every defense

Every form of relief in immigration court requires the respondent to establish — or to be eligible to be granted — admissibility. A single conviction can transform a winnable cancellation case into a mandatory removal:

• An aggravated felony under INA § 101(a)(43) bars cancellation, asylum, and most discretionary relief.
• A crime involving moral turpitude can trigger inadmissibility, deportability, or both.
• A controlled substance conviction triggers INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) — even a single guilty plea to simple possession can bar relief absent narrow exceptions.
• False claim to U.S. citizenship under INA § 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) — most clients did not realize a job application or voter form they signed years ago could be characterized this way.

This is why post-conviction relief — vacating the underlying state conviction under Padilla v. Kentucky — is often the first move in a deportation defense. Without an attorney coordinating immigration and criminal counsel, that opportunity is missed.

Bond and appeals

We litigate custody redetermination hearings under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19, Matter of Joseph hearings for mandatory-detention challenges, BIA appeals, and circuit-court petitions for review when the immigration judge errs.