Why is My Loved One Being Detained?

There are a lot of reasons that immigration officials detain people in the United States. Some of the most common reasons that immigrants are currently being detained are:

  • The person has a criminal history that makes immigration officials believe he or she may be a danger to the community;
  • The person entered the country illegally (or “without inspection”) and does not have any legal immigration status in the United States;
  • The person was previously ordered deported, but never left the country; or
  • The person is a green card holder and has a criminal record, but left the United States to travel internationally, and upon return was placed in detention.

In November 2014, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a memo called “Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants.” Among other things, this memo discusses which type of immigration violations and which criminal convictions the U.S. government is most concerned about, and which types of violations they will most vigorously pursue.

What Do I Do if My Relative or Friend Has Been Detained?

If your friend or relative has been detained, the first thing you should do is figure out what his or her “alien number” or “A number” is. Using the A number and the person’s country of origin, you can find out where he or she is being detained using the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Online Detainee Locator System.

Next, you should find out whether or not the person has been placed in immigration court proceedings. To do that, you can call the EOIR Hotline at 1-800-898-7180. If you have your relative or friend’s A number, you can follow the prompts on the automated hotline to find out if they have been scheduled for a hearing, and if so, what kind of hearing it is, when it will be, and where the court it will take place in is located.

Try to get copies of any immigration paperwork your friend or relative has been given, and try to find out from them why immigration says they are being detained.

Using all of this this information, contact an experienced Southern California immigration attorney as soon as possible for a consultation to find out how to get your loved one out of detention.

How Does a Person Get Out of Immigration Detention?

The most common way for a person to be released from immigration detention is after a bond hearing, where a person has successfully argued that he or she should be released upon the payment of a certain amount of money in the form of a bond.

A bond is money paid to immigration to ensure that the detained person will attend his or her future immigration hearings. Whoever pays the bond and signs the bond paperwork will receive the bond money back from the government if the person later wins his or her immigration case in immigration court. However, if the person does not win his or her case or does not attend his or her future hearings, that bond money will not be returned.

Can My Loved One Get a Bond Hearing?

There are some individuals who are subject to “mandatory detention” and who cannot be released on bond. To figure out if your relative or friend is eligible to apply for bond, contact our immigration attorney in Los Angeless and set up a consultation as soon as you can. We will review the detained individual’s immigration and criminal history to see if they are eligible for bond.

If your relative or friend is eligible to apply for bond, Joshua Goldstein can help. He has years of experience practicing in immigration court and has successfully argued and won bond hearings for many clients. The key to a bond hearing is knowing what what makes the strongest and most convincing bond motions.

When an immigration judge is making a decision about whether to release an individual from detention and determining the amount of the immigration bond, he or she will typically consider the following factors:

  • Whether the person will be a danger to the community;
  • What the person’s criminal history is;
  • Whether the person is a flight risk (this is asking whether the person will faithfully appear at their immigration court hearings if he or she is released from immigration detention now);
  • Whether the person has family ties in the United States;
  • What the person’s employment history is;
  • What the person’s involvement in any community organizations has been;
  • What the person’s financial ability to pay the bond is;
  • What the person’s immigration history is; and
  • Whether the person has any immigration relief available in immigration court.

Knowing what evidence to include, what evidence to highlight, and how to argue successfully before an immigration judge are very important to the ultimate success or failure of the bond motion. Southern California immigration attorney Joshua Goldstein has the skills, knowledge, and determination you need to get your loved one out of detention.

Work with a Los Angeles Immigration Bond Attorney

Living in the second-largest city in the United States, home to Griffith Park, Disneyland, and boundless employment and educational opportunities, your friend or family member has been on a path toward building a successful life in the United States. Being detained and later deported would mean an end to all that person has worked for during their time in this country.

Don’t give up and don’t let them give up either! Work with one of our Los Angeles immigration bond lawyers to help get your relative or friend out of detention so that together, we can fight to keep them in the United States. Please answer a few questions here and see if you qualify for a free case evaluation.