Houston Criminal Defense & Immigration Lawyer
One Attorney. Both Courts. At the Most Critical Intersection in Immigration Law.
A criminal charge doesn’t just threaten your freedom. For noncitizens, it threatens everything tied to your immigration status: your visa, your green card, your ability to stay in the country with your family. Those two sets of consequences play out in two separate court systems, and decisions made in one directly affect outcomes in the other. Most criminal defense attorneys aren’t trained in federal immigration law. Most immigration attorneys don’t practice in criminal court. Attorney Mana Yegani does both.
Attorney Yegani has been a member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association since 2011 and the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association since 2010, alongside her full immigration practice. Her office is located near the Houston Contract Detention Facility, the primary immigration detention site serving the Houston area, so she can respond quickly when a client is detained. She has handled cases where ICE holds were removed for clients who had a criminal case pending and an immigration issue at the same time. If you’re facing that situation, you need someone who understands the full picture.
Contact us online or call (832) 981-2170 for a consultation with a crimmigration attorney in Houston. ¡Hablamos Español!
What Criminal Charges Can Put Your Immigration Status at Risk?
Federal immigration law, not state criminal law, determines whether a conviction triggers removal. The categories below are among the most common deportable offenses, but this list isn’t exhaustive. Any criminal matter involving a noncitizen warrants an immigration review before any plea is entered.
Charges that frequently trigger immigration consequences include:
- DUI/DWI
- Drug offenses
- Theft, burglary, or robbery
- Assault or battery
- Fraud
- False identification or falsifying immigration documents
- Driving without a license
- Voting illegally
- Helping others enter the U.S. illegally
- Other misdemeanors and felonies
The most severe consequences attach to two categories: crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) and aggravated felonies. Courts have defined CIMTs as conduct that is inherently base or depraved and contrary to accepted moral standards, such as fraud, dishonesty, or serious intentional harm. Both can result in mandatory detention and permanent bars to re-entry, depending on the nature of the offense, the number of convictions, and other factors specific to your case.
Do NOT accept a plea bargain deal before you fully understand the immigration consequences of your criminal charge. Do NOT plead guilty to a criminal offense before you fully understand the immigration consequences of your criminal charge. Call (832) 981-2170 to set up a consultation with Attorney Yegani.
The Deferred Adjudication Problem
Many noncitizens and even criminal defense attorneys don’t know this: Deferred adjudication, often presented as a favorable outcome because it avoids a formal conviction under Texas law, can still trigger immigration consequences equivalent to a full conviction under federal law. Any noncitizen, regardless of immigration status, can be placed in immigration detention and removal proceedings as a result of a guilty plea for deferred adjudication. It’s one of the most common ways immigration status is lost without the person or their attorney realizing the risk.
How Attorney Yegani Can Intervene in Your Case
Crimmigration cases require intervention at the right moment. Attorney Yegani can step into a case at any stage, from before a plea is entered through post-conviction proceedings, and she handles both the criminal and immigration sides.
Pre-Plea Immigration Analysis
Before any plea is entered in criminal court, an immigration review of the charge can identify whether the offense or an alternative charge negotiated with the prosecutor triggers federal immigration consequences. This step can help protect immigration status without undermining the criminal defense strategy. It’s the most effective point of intervention.
Immigration Court Representation
If removal proceedings have already started, or if a client has been detained by ICE, Attorney Yegani can represent them in immigration court separately from any criminal proceedings. Immigration bond hearings are distinct from criminal bail hearings; a person detained by ICE needs separate counsel in immigration court to seek release while the case is pending. Attorney Yegani is admitted to practice before the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
She can assist with:
- Immigration bond hearings and parole bonds
- Appeals
- Deportation defense
- Challenging ICE holds
- Cancellation of removal proceedings
- Withholding of removal and asylum
- Recovering a green card
- Sealing of criminal records
Post-Conviction Relief
When a plea has already been entered and immigration proceedings have begun, options may still exist. It may be possible to challenge the original conviction, seek a sentence modification, or vacate a plea entered without proper advisement of immigration consequences. Attorney Yegani evaluates these possibilities as part of her case-by-case analysis, and she regularly collaborates with Texas criminal defense attorneys who have clients facing immigration issues in Harris County, stepping in as immigration counsel when the criminal side is already covered.
Why Houston Immigrants Trust Attorney Yegani for Crimmigration Defense
Attorney Yegani founded her practice in 2011. Before that, she clerked for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, working on international criminal cases. This direct experience at the intersection of criminal law and federal enforcement shapes how she approaches crimmigration defense today. Clients work directly with Attorney Yegani throughout their case, with no rotating associates or hand-offs to paralegals. Her team communicates in English, Farsi, Spanish, and Russian, which matters when the stakes are this high and clarity can’t be an afterthought.
Her recognition within the legal community includes:
- 10.0 Superb rating on Avvo
- Clients’ Choice Award in 2023
- Rising Star recognition by SuperLawyers.com
- Listed among The National Advocates Top 100 Lawyers from 2015 through 2019
- Sharon Levine Unsung Heroes Award at the 2017 HCCLA Banquet in Houston, for her work during the Trump Travel Ban, including responding at the Houston airport to assist individuals held in detention
Set up a consultation when you call (832) 981-2170. Our services are available in English and Spanish.
