An immigrant living in the District who pleaded guilty to assault and contempt charges and was scheduled to be deported, now has a second chance to stay in the country thanks to a ruling by the city’s highest court. Eduardo Bautista is living in the United States under temporary protected status, an immigration allowance for immigrants who come from a country where conditions prevent the country’s citizens from returning safely. An immigrant’s protected status can be revoked if he is convicted of two misdemeanors. Following Bautista’s guilty pleas to simple assault and contempt — two misdemeanors — the Department of Homeland Security revoked Bautista’s protected status.
But during his plea hearing, the judge only informed Bautista of the immigration implications for his guilty plea to the assault charge and didn’t mention those implications when Bautista pleaded guilty to contempt, according the D.C. Court of Appeals ruling. District law requires that an immigrant be made aware of immigration implications when pleading guilty to each and every charge he or she faces. As a result, the appeals court threw out Bautista’s contempt guilty plea and he has been granted a retrial. If he’s found not guilty, he’ll likely be allowed to stay in the U.S.
When Bautista appeared in D.C. Superior Court for his plea hearing on Nov. 4, 2004, Judge Jeanette Clark was only aware of the simple assault charge pending against Bautista, court documents said. The judge read Bautista his rights regarding the guilty plea he was about to enter for the assault charge. While reading those rights, Clark informed Bautista that the guilty plea could affect his immigration status. Bautista said he understood and then pleaded guilty.
It was then that the Assistant U.S. Attorney informed the judge of the contempt charge. According to the appeals court opinion, Bautista was aware of the contempt charge pending against him and it was entered without objection by his attorney. The judge, however, neglected to mention while reading Bautista his rights regarding the contempt charge that it could affect Bautista’s immigration status.
Bautista didn’t appeal the case until April 2009, when the Department of Homeland Security rejected his arguments to stay in the country. He has remained in the U.S. pending the outcome of the appeals process and he’ll be able to stay here longer now that he’ll be allowed a new trial for the contempt charge.
