Judge Dismisses 'Unfair' Charge of Illegal Re-entry: U.S. v. Gonzalez

"The failure to tell an immigrant who was in the country illegally about his right to seek voluntary departure from the United States has led a federal judge to dismiss a charge of illegal re-entry.  Southern District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that it was "fundamentally unfair" that Teodoro Gonzalez was charged with illegally re-entering the country when he was never informed of the voluntary departure option before he was deported.  Furman made that ruling in United States v. Gonzalez, 15-cr-00021, finding that both an immigration judge and Gonzalez's counsel should have informed Gonzalez about his options, and counsel was ineffective for failing to do so." - NYLJ, June 2, 2015.