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About two years ago, Diego was faced with two options, risk deportation by applying to renew his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status or live in the United States without legal documentation.
Unknowingly, the Hollister resident had set the wheels in motion toward that predicament in 2019 when he was convicted of misdemeanor child abuse. Now, he said he wants to remedy his situation, starting with cleaning his record.
Diego’s conviction stems from a night when he slapped a 5-year-old boy, who was his stepson at the time, in the face after he caught him using a tablet despite Diego having taken it away because the boy had gotten in trouble.
“I didn’t know any better,” Diego, 35, said. “It was a disciplinary action. I was disciplined that way.”
Diego, whose last name is not being used by BenitoLink upon his request due to his immigration status, spent a month in San Benito County Jail, was sentenced to four years of probation and batterer intervention classes which he says helped him deal better with his anger.
Fast forward to 2023, four years after his conviction on the charges.
Though he had served his time and completed probation, the conviction continued to impact his life, primarily when his DACA authorization was expiring. DACA is a federal policy that provides selected undocumented immigrants with relief from deportation and provides work authorization.
Afraid that pursuing a renewal would put him at risk of being deported because of his conviction, Diego opted not to proceed with the process, which includes a live scan fingerprinting.
He recently learned that he may qualify to clear his record and attended a Nov. 5 Gavilan College Higher Aspirations workshop, which brought the San Jose State University Clean Record Project to the Hollister campus.
The workshop included a presentation about the process of clearing criminal records and identified which convictions are eligible for expungement.
“I learned about the process and that there is help,” he said about the workshop. There was “a lot of information I didn’t know.”
Diego said he is now in a new relationship and looking into the process of clearing his record in hopes of reapplying for DACA and eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. He said he also hopes clearing his record will help him win court approval for more visitation time with his 11-year old daughter, who is currently in full custody of her mother.
“I feel it’s because of my conviction,” he said. “I don’t blame her.”
Since his conviction, Diego said he’s been hesitant to apply to jobs, fearing he would be turned down because of his record. He said he has yet to reach out to set up an appointment with the record clearing program but has since learned expunging his record would not directly help him with his DACA. Hi said there are more steps he needs to take.
“The expungement would only help me to get a job, housing or something like that,” he said.
Diego said he learned from his mistake and plans to speak to an immigration attorney after he addresses his conviction.
Emily Benson with the Record Clearance Project said there have been eight clients who have received assistance with cases in San Benito County since August. In total, the program has assisted approximately 2,850 clients since it began in 2008, Benson said.
She added the most common convictions that clients request to expunge, or clear from their record, are DUIs, drug possession and petty theft convictions.
Gavilan College Juvenile Justice Program Coordinator Robb Rodriguez said it’s important to inform the community and those who have gone through the justice system about the services that exist.
“There is support in the community for you and this is an easy place to start,” he said.
More than 20 people attended the event including community members, probation staff and representatives of organizations which help those who are going through or have gone through the justice system.
“Not only are we invested, but also the community organizations are invested in making sure people have access to good services,” Rodriguez said.
He said that since the program began in 2019, Gavilan students have been offered services to clear their record and more recently become connected with San Jose State’s program.
“We do a lot of referrals, so they are a close partner,” he said.
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