Jennifer T. Friedman

Before Friedman joined the newly created Immigration Unit at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, there was only one lawyer there to advise on the potential immigration impacts of criminal convictions.

Through funding from the city, Friedman as well as two other attorneys, a paralegal and a clerk now not only advise clients on the immigration implications of convictions but take on the cases of detained immigrants facing deportation in the San Francisco immigration court.

The unit is growing, according to Friedman who said that with additional city funding the office will more than double by June with the hiring of four additional attorneys, two social workers and an investigator.

“We go to court on a rotating basis, but when we go to court we take all of the cases that are there that day that need representation, which is a real departure from the way most immigration service providers work,” Friedman said, noting that most attorneys defending clients in deportation screen them first to see if they have a case to remain in the U.S.

“We go in with the attitude that everyone deserves representation in their removal proceedings,” Friedman said, adding that her work and that of her colleagues was at the forefront of a nationwide push toward universal representation for immigrants in deportation proceedings.

While she said her practice focuses mostly on detained removal defense work, she also advises immigrants on what their other convictions could mean for their ability to stay in the U.S.

“The first thing that criminal defense attorneys should do when they meet a client is assess what their immigration situation is,” Friedman said. She added that she and other lawyers advise clients on negotiating immigration safe pleas in court, when to go to trial, and other options.

Before coming to San Francisco, Friedman worked as the managing attorney for The Bronx Defenders immigration practice where she said much of her work focused on administration.

“One thing that’s been really exciting for me is to step back into my own individual practice where I’m in the courthouse multiple times every week getting to do what I love which is doing the litigating,” Friedman said.

— Chase DiFeliciantonio