Getting the Person Out of Detention While Awaiting Further Action
When someone is in an immigration detention facility, the most important thing to you may be to get the person out. Make sure this is the wise thing to do, however—immigration court proceedings will move much more quickly if the person is detained, and there may be good reasons for getting to see a judge sooner rather than later. Most of the time, however, it’s better to get out of the detention facility and have an immigration judge hear the case later. An immigration lawyer will be able to help with your decision.
If you would like to get the detainee released, the first thing you need to do is find out whether ICE has set a bond. The “bond” is similar to “bail” in the criminal courts. It is an amount of money paid to ICE to guarantee that the detainee will show up for future court dates and obey whatever order the judge ultimately issues. (The money will be returned if the detainee follows through—or forfeited if he or she flees.)
Under the law, some people are not eligible for bond, and must remain in the detention facility until an immigration judge decides whether they should be removed (deported). If the ICE deportation officer tells you that the detainee “has no bond,” ask the officer whether that means the amount of the bond has not been determined yet, or whether it means the detainee is not eligible for bond. If you’re told that the detainee is not eligible for bond, you might want to consult with an immigration lawyer to see whether ICE is correct.
If the detainee is eligible for a bond, ICE will tell you what the amount they want you to pay. If you can’t pay that amount, or if you think it’s too high, you or the detainee’s attorney can make a motion for a “bond hearing.” Every detainee is entitled to a bond hearing to determine whether the detainee can be released or how much the bond should be. You don’t have to wait for your first scheduled court date to have the judge decide about bond—you can ask the court to schedule your bond hearing as soon as possible.
At the bond hearing, the immigration judge may either find that the detainee is subject to mandatory detention, or that the detainee can be released on a bond. If the judge finds that the detainee should be released and ICE has set no bond amount yet, the judge will set a bond amount that must be paid before release. If you are challenging the amount set by ICE, the judge will determine how much the bond will be. The judge will want to know whether the detainee is likely to show up to future immigration court hearings, and whether the detainee would be a danger to the community if released from the detention facility. Be careful about asking the judge to change the bond amount—the judge has the power to lower the amount but also the power to raise the amount if something bad about you comes up during the bond hearing.
The minimum bond amount is set at $1,500 (I.N.A. § 236(a)(2)(A)), but it can go much higher than that, up to $20,000 or more. If you are planning to pay this on the detainee’s behalf, you will need to have legal status in the U.S. and bring photo identification. You may also need to arrange for the person’s pickup—not all detention centers will give them a ride to the nearest bus station or airport.
After the bond hearing, the immigration judge will set a “Master Calendar” hearing date. (Master Calendar means the immigrant and other people are scheduled for court on the same day at the same time.) At the Master Calendar hearing, the immigrant will answer the government’s allegations and request any forms of relief to which he or she may be entitled. If the person claims some form of relief, the judge will set an “Individual Hearing” date. (Individual Hearing means the immigrant’s case is the only one scheduled for that time on that day.)
The entire removal process can take years or it can take a few months, depending on the kind of relief the detainee has available, whether the court docket is crowded, and other factors. That means an immigrant to whom the judge does not allow release on bond can potentially spend a long time in detention—a situation worth avoiding, as described in Living Conditions in Immigration Detention Centers. An attorney may, in such a circumstance, be able to obtain the person’s release by filing what’s called a habeas corpus action in federal court, claiming that such a lengthy detention is unconstitutional.