Final Order of Removal: Should You Leave, Hide, or Fight?

If you have a final order of removal or fear deportation, doing nothing is the worst choice.
Self-deportation usually means you are not coming back.
Living off the grid is not freedom — it is fear.
Before giving up, speak with an immigration lawyer. Some cases once thought hopeless are now legally fixable.

“They Told Me Nothing Could Be Done”

I hear this sentence constantly.

Sometimes it was said years ago.
Sometimes when the law truly offered no relief.

But immigration law evolves.

Overbroad Statutes and Federal Immigration Law

Federal courts increasingly recognize that:

• Many state criminal statutes are overbroad

• Not every conviction that sounds deportable qualifies under federal law

Examples include:

• Drug statutes where the state definition exceeds the federal definition

• Assault and battery statutes that do not qualify as crimes of violence

This leads to outcomes that feel counterintuitive — such as a “drug distribution” conviction that is not a deportable drug trafficking offense.

These arguments are technical.
They require close statutory analysis.
But they are very real.

Vacating Old Convictions Under Padilla

Post-conviction relief has expanded dramatically.

Under Padilla and its Massachusetts progeny:

• Convictions may be vacated for failure to advise about immigration consequences

• Massachusetts applies this retroactively to April 1, 1997

• Courts have gone further than the U.S. Supreme Court required

I have successfully brought many such cases in Massachusetts state courts, resulting in:

• Vacated convictions

• Terminated final orders of removal

For many people, these remedies did not exist at the time of conviction.

The Practical Reality

A criminal record does not automatically mean deportation is inevitable.

But these cases are:

• Highly fact-specific

• Legally technical

• Impossible to assess without a full record review

Internet advice and assumptions are dangerous here.

The Bottom Line

If you have:

• A criminal conviction

• A final order of removal

• Or were told nothing could be done

That advice may be outdated.

The law has changed.

Before you give up, get an updated analysis under today’s law.

Consultations

• Consultation fee: $200

• Credited toward representation if appropriate

• Honest answers — even when the answer is no

No panic.
No false hope.
Just clarity.