Pleas: immigration advisement.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details about what happens if the exact warning was not given prior to January 1, 2026.

Plea Advisements: Immigration Consequences

This law requires courts to warn non-U.S. citizens about potential immigration consequences when they plead guilty or no contest.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the court to give a specific warning about possible deportation, exclusion from entering the U.S., and denial of naturalization if the defendant is not a citizen and is convicted.
• Clarifies that this warning must be given exactly as written by law.

Who It Names or Affects

• Non-U.S. citizen defendants in criminal cases
• Courts and judges who handle these cases

Terms To Know

nolo contendere

A plea where a defendant does not admit guilt but agrees to be punished as if guilty, without the admission being used in other legal actions.

naturalization

The process of becoming a citizen of a country after birth.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens to pleas made before January 1, 2026, if the exact warning wasn't given.
• Doesn't change how courts handle cases for U.S. citizens.

Official Summary Text

SB 281, Pérez.
Pleas: immigration advisement.
Existing law requires the court, prior to the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, to advise the defendant that if they are not a citizen, conviction of the crime charged may result in deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization. After January 1, 1978, if the court fails to advise the defendant, as required, and the defendant shows that conviction of the offense to which the defendant pleaded guilty or nolo contendere may have the consequences for the defendant of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States, the court, on the defendant’s motion, is required to vacate the judgment and permit the defendant to withdraw the plea of guilty or nolo contendere, and enter a plea of not guilty.
This bill would
require the court to give the above-described advisement verbatim and would clarify the advisement to state that if the defendant is not a citizen of the United States, conviction may result in the specified immigration consequences. The bill would state that for a plea accepted prior to January 1, 2026, it is not the intent of the Legislature that a court’s failure to provide the advisement verbatim requires vacation of judgment and withdrawal of the plea or constitutes grounds for finding a prior conviction invalid, as specified.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF