The border crossing between Tijuana (TJ) and San Ysidro into the United States is the most heavily crossed international border in the world. That’s right, The World! Therefore, San Diego Defenders receives numerous calls from concerned parents and spouses. Questions we frequently receive are “Do you know how I can find my son-in-law?” or “I have not heard from my husband and I think he was arrested, can you find him?”

We start our search with federal inmates, state jails, immigration, ICE, Homeland Security, and Border Patrol, to name a few. It is tricky business finding people that have been arrested and almost seem to disappear. Recently, we were contacted by a mother about her son that had not been seen since the first of the week, but she had received a call from someone claiming to be a friend telling her that she may want to get a lawyer for her son because he had been arrested.

As Attorney Smith details, when she came to him, he needed to be honest. If Attorney Smith could not find them in his first few searches, they would need to come into the office and retain his services to launch a full search which usually takes 24-48 hours before he could figure out where they are. He has to charge a fee for that service because it takes a great deal of time and expertise. He has been practicing law for 25 years and he has acquired knowledge in where to look, who to ask, and how to act toward the agency that may be holding the person he is looking for. Abraham Lincoln once said, “A lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade.”

Quite simply, that means that a lawyer that has been practicing criminal law close to a border town his whole life knows a lot more than a new lawyer, and especially one that does not have an office only a few minutes from the border.

Sometimes he is asked, “Well your consultation is free, correct?” Yes, the initial consultation on the phone is free and he will try to find your loved one immediately. If we cannot find them immediately, chances are the attorney is going to have to spend some time, and that is definitely has value. For instance, in the case of the mother looking for her son, the attorney had time to stop the agents from so-called voluntary talks. Attorney Smith then called the prosecutor and arranged to meet his client and make sure that they had an agreement in place if any more discussions were going to take place. If not, he would advise her son to ask if he is free to go and come to his office. If he is not free to go, he would advise him to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

Quite simply, Attorney Smith is protecting the Constitution and the rights it gives an individual to help themselves with the guidance of a lawyer. If the case is drug related, the attorney wants to know a few things, such as what the son was telling the arresting officer and what kind of drug it was if he knows. That can be very important in determining the next move to make in the case. If it is marijuana and under 100 lbs. it may be a State prosecution verses a Federal case. Our office is across the street from the Chula Vista, or South Bay, Courthouse where most of those types of cases are heard. The arrested son’s immigration status will of course be an issue as to how we proceed from there.

Was the son being used as a mule to carry methamphetamine without even knowing it? Or has the son been followed in the past by the Homeland Security Investigation team, sometimes known as HSI. There are so many questions and the landscape of the method of prosecution is changing. We would advise you to call us at (619) 258-8888 if you must speak to the attorney, Daniel Smith, immediately. We will try to connect you to Attorney Smith on his cell phone and he will get right on it. Check us out on Yelp, Google, AVVO, or just go straight to our website www.sandiegodefenders.com and make sure you feel comfortable with our firm. Although the attorney’s Spanish could be better, our certified paralegal speaks Spanish fluently and we will answer all the questions we can in our first call.