People v. Zendejas CA4/2

FACTS

On July 18, 2011, Zendejas pled guilty to manufacturing or transporting deceptive

identification documents (§ 483.5, subd. (a)) for possessing a forged social security card

and a forged permanent resident card. The judge sentenced him to three years’ probation.

Before entering this plea, Zendejas’s trial counsel explained that he was on an

Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold. The judge explained that re-entering the

country illegally would violate his probation conditions, and Zendejas said he

understood. The judge didn’t advise Zendejas that his plea could carry immigration

2 consequences, but Zendejas did sign a plea form in which he acknowledged he

understood his “conviction may have the consequences of deportation, exclusion from

admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization.”

In July 2019, Zendejas filed a motion to withdraw guilty plea under

section 1473.7. He argued that when he pled guilty, he didn’t understand his crime could

constitute a crime of moral turpitude under immigration law, which could have

significant immigration consequences. He also argued these potential consequences

became more likely after various immigration law…