Immigration Committee Guidelines

PURPOSE: The following represents the procedure governing the submission of an application made by defense counsel on behalf of a charged defendant who seeks consideration of the defendant’s immigration status in connection with a plea offer that has been extended to them by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office (WCDAO).

PROCESS: Any application presented to the Immigration Committee (IC) for consideration must be submitted electronically to the attention of the IC Coordinator at IC@westchesterda.net no less than four (4) weeks prior to the first scheduled SCI Conference Date, or within the four (4) weeks immediately following the formal communication of a plea offer by a member of the WCDAO when there is no executed SCI Waiver.  The failure to timely submit such an application, or any parts thereof, shall result in the preclusion of that material which is not timely submitted from IC consideration.    

FORMAT: Each application submitted for IC consideration shall be comprised of a cover letter that summarizes the anticipated immigration status-related impact (ISI) upon the defendant, in conjunction with the authority upon which that anticipated ISI is based.

Each such application should be supported by all available mitigation material that may include, but is not limited to:

  • official documents and/or records that substantiate defense counsel’s proffered ISI upon the defendant,
  • unofficial written opinion concerning the defendant which is offered by an attorney or an advocacy group that provides immigration-related advice in a professional capacity,
  • information relating a disproportionate ISI upon the defendant that will result from a previously extended or anticipated plea offer, in conjunction with a proposed alternative disposition that will avoid such an ISI, and
  • personal information concerning the defendant that defense counsel believes to be related to the circumstances that gave rise to the charged crime(s) and which bear upon the perceived impact of a previously extended or anticipated plea offer by the WCDAO.

CONTACT: The members of the IC include ADAs Steve Bender, Anthony J. Molea, Shameika Mathurin, Shea Scanlon Lomma and Hazem Ennabi. CADA George Hlapatsos serves as the IC Coordinator and will address any questions or concerns that you may have regarding the foregoing when directed to his attention at IC@westchesterda.net.