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San Mateo County’s Private Defender Program, which appoints attorneys to assist people who cannot afford them, has recently experienced an influx of requests for expungement or assistance in vacating criminal charges.
Two county attorneys handle the bulk of those cases, and it can be difficult to keep up, said Mitri Hanania, managing attorney for the private defender program
While the backlog ebbs and flows, attorneys are currently working on April expungement requests – unless a person is in immediate danger of deportation, Hanania said at Wednesday East Palo Alto immigration training session.
“Then, it’s all hands on deck,” he said.
The presentation, focused on record expungement, is the latest in a series of East Palo Alto-based immigration training sessions that are meant to educate locals about their rights when dealing with federal officers.
Record expungement cannot directly prevent deportation, but may display good conduct in immigration cases, according to experts.
Hanania and East Palo Alto Legal Services Executive Director Katrina Logan helped lead the discussion that local librarians, county staff and school officials attended in hopes to pass along the information in local immigrant communities.
San Mateo County’s Private Defender Program provides free post-conviction services like expungement, Hanania said.
“650-298-4000, if somebody calls that number, speaks to the attorney of the day, they can ask to have one of their convictions either expunged or sealed,” he said.
If someone is not a U.S. citizen, the program will offer a full intake process and refer the person to its in-house immigration attorney, Carla Gomez.
“We review it and if we think that the conviction would cause an immigrant some kind of adverse consequence in immigration court, we would then assign it out to an attorney who specializes in vacating that conviction,” Hanania said.
The attorneys would then decide whether the charge should be expunged or vacated, which is a more complex process.
To vacate a charge would essentially involve going back and reversing the original plea – completely undoing it. Expungement, on the other hand, could clear a charge from someone’s record but not completely delete it.
In general, Hanania recommends contacting legal professionals if someone is worried that past charges may affect their immigration status.
East Palo Alto Council member Ruben Abrica, who helped organize the event, hopes the training sessions can help people feel more confident about immigration policy changes.
Still, as immigration-related fears rise and locals continue to report false ICE sightings, one resident asked: “When will ICE come here?”
So far, San Mateo County has not confirmed any reports of federal officers arresting people at local airports, Hanania said, or entering court houses to detain people.
As a longtime local lawyer, who began his own Redwood City-based private practice in 1998, he’s witnessed more aggressive behavior.
“They used to go into the courthouse, wait for the person to come out of court, of the courtroom, in the hallway, handcuff them and take them to our jail,” he said. “Our current sheriff in San Mateo County does not cooperate with ICE.”
It is unclear whether or not the presence of federal officers will increase locally, but East Palo Alto legal expert Logan advises people to know their rights.
“When I have been giving these presentations, I say everybody has constitutional rights, and it doesn’t feel very powerful, because a lot of people’s constitutional rights are being violated, but thankfully, people are trying to defend those rights,” she said, citing a July 11 federal order to temporarily restrict immigration-agents from conducting traffic stops without reasonable cause.
In cases people do encounter federal officers in public spaces like parks, a workplace or on the street, Logan said, they should remain silent and attempt to record if someone is being harassed.
“They can only get what you give them if they don’t have a warrant,” she said.
In order to report or inquire about ICE sightings, people can call the San Mateo County Rapid Response network at 203-666-4472 or the Santa Clara network at 408-290-1144. East Palo Alto’s Community Legal Services, Catholic Charities Immigration Services and Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County are among many organizations that may assist with individual legal cases.
