What happens when you get arrested by inmigration???

[skamiri]

Hello,

My brother in law was pulled over by county sheriff and reported to inmigration (Michigan). They arrested him and put him in a county jail. When I call inmigration they don't provide you with too much info and the little they give you is with a very bad attitude. They said he has a bond of $3000 and that will get him out. Then he will receive a court day by mail and if he fails to appear in court they will deport him. That being out will give him a longer time to wait for court day and being in will be faster the court day.

Does anybody knows what usually happens? He is mexican.
Any advise will be appreciated!! :o

[skamiri]

Any Advise Will Help!!!!

[inlimbo]

I don't know the specifics of your case, but unless your BIL has some form of relief available to him , he will most likely be deported, or at best, granted voluntary departure. If he does not show up to his court date, he will be 'ordered removed' (a sort've nice way of saying ordered deported) in absentia. Once he is deported he is unable to apply to re-enter the country for 10 years. If he re-enters illegally, he is subject to federal prosecution and time in federal prison. Unfortunately it's not pretty. I am so sorry to hear that this happened. My fiance was detained and deported last year. If you can come up with the $3000 I would highly recommend it because it will most likely give him time to put his affairs in order, plus he won't have to suffer waiting in some jail/detention center. You may want to consult with an attorney who has experience in deportation cases, but most likely they won't really be able to do anything except possibly prolong his stay in the US. Anyone who entered without inspection for Mexico doesn't really have any opportunities for relief to stay in the US, except maybe if someone filed a petition to adjust his status prior to 1996 (I'm not 100% sure about the year)

[inlimbo]

I found this info re: cancellation of removal on Laurel Scott's website :
http://visacentral.net/getlegal.html I don't know if this applies to your BIL's case or not.

Cancellation of Removal - General
Available to EWIs and Overstays. If you have been in the United States for at least ten years (five years if you were a permanent resident), and if your removal/deportation would cause EXCEPTIONAL and EXTREMELY UNUSUAL HARDSHIP to your spouse, parent or child who is a US citizen or permanent resident, you MAY qualify for Cancellation of Removal. It is very difficult to prove EXCEPTIONAL and EXTREMELY UNUSUAL HARDSHIP, but if you are granted Cancellation of Removal, you will be eligible for permanent residence.

Cancellation of Removal - VAWA
Available to EWIs and Overstays. If you have been present in the United States for at least three years and either your or your child(ren) have been beaten or subject to extreme cruelty by your US citizen or permanent resident husband or wife, you MAY be eligible for Cancellation of Removal. You will still be eligible even if you learn that your marriage was invalid because your husband or wife was already married. If granted Cancellation of Removal, you will be eligible for permanent residence.
:

[skamiri]

Thanks Inlimbo for your input!!!! i know a lot of people had gone through this but i don't understand why they can't share the experience...

So what are the benefits of doing a voluntary deportation or a deportation ordered by the judge?

Does anybody knows?:shy:

[inlimbo]

The benefit of being granted voluntary departure is that the person would not have to file an I-212 if he is trying to re-enter the US in the future. So it's one less hurdle to returning to the US. Of course, unless he has a qualifying USC relative (i.e. wife?) he probably wouldn't have the possibility to return legally anyways if he entered without inspection (EWI) and stayed in the US longer than 180 days, which always results in a 10 year ban once the person leaves the US. The only way to waive the ban is to file and I-601 waiver, which requires a qualifying USC relative to show extreme hardship if the 'alien' is not allowed to return to the US and/or if the USC relocated to the 'alien's' country.

The judge must grant voluntary departure, and the person has to pay for their own trip back. I believe he must also stop at a US embassy to prove that he has returned to his own country.

Deportation aka Removal means that the gov't returns him to Mexico. The exact method depends on where he lives in the US. My fiance was detained in New York State, taken by bus to Philadelphia, then flown to Matamoros TX where the immigration officers turned everyone over to (I believe) the Mexican government to be admitted to the country. At that point, he had to find his own way back to where his family lives, which is in Mexico City. He returned to Mexico with nothing but the clothes on his back. Not a good experience at all.

I hope this helps. I think hands-down voluntary departure is best if you can get it.

Here's what USDOJ says about VD:
http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/04/ReliefFromRemoval.htm

Voluntary Departure – Voluntary departure is the most common form of relief from removal and may be granted by Immigration Judges, as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which absorbed the functions of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. Voluntary departure avoids the stigma of formal removal by allowing an otherwise removable alien to depart the United States at his or her own personal expense and return to his or her home country, or another country if the individual can secure an entry there. Immigration Judges will provide aliens information on the availability of this form of relief when taking pleadings. It is important to note that aliens granted voluntary departure must depart within the time specified by the Immigration Judge. Although an Immigration Judge has the discretion to set a shorter deadline, aliens granted voluntary departure prior to the completion of removal proceedings must depart within 120 days, and those granted such relief at the conclusion of removal proceedings must depart within 60 days. In addition, in order to avoid being penalized for choosing to appeal a decision rather than depart, the BIA usually will extend an earlier grant of voluntary departure for 30 days. As with other forms of discretionary relief, certain individuals will be found ineligible for voluntary departure, and those granted voluntary departure who fail to depart are subject to fines and a 10-year period of ineligibility for other forms of relief.


Google voluntary departure and you will find a lot of information.

Hope this helps.

[meesh]

I would assume that many members of the site are busy, so they have yet to read over all the recent posts. Maybe more people will respond this evening, when they have come home from work. You might want to join Laurel's chat tomorrow to ask her questions about this. It looks like Inlimbo provided some excellent resources though. Good work:)

[dduran]

So is he still in the county jail or with immigration, I thought the immigration judge is the only one that can order deportation, he gets out he should still appear in court. Tell him not to sign any immigration papers, just that he'll leave on his own. Also, i've know, once immigration has him they will not let him out unless at the border.

[skamiri]

Ok...

So he was given court day yesterday 7/11/07 and he did the voluntary departure. Now we will like to know... what is the procedure for this, since he still in detention at the county jail... Does anybody knows?

Any advise will be appreciated :rolleyes:

[inlimbo]

Sorry that I can't help you with any personal experience on this particular question. Didn't you say you can post bail to get him out of jail? I don't know if you still have to do that if he was granted voluntary departure but I would highly recommend that you do if it's the only way he can get out, otherwise he'll be spending the rest of his days in the US in jail...

Have you tried google?

I would recommend you have a look at this handbook - maybe it has some info about what you need to do next. http://www.lirs.org/InfoRes/PDFs/FlorenceProSe/VolDep-E.pdf
I just 'refound' it after doing a search -- it was a good reference for me when my fiance was detained.

Maybe someone with firsthand experience of voluntary departure will chime in...

[Dorothea]

skamiri, i just saw your post today. my husband was granted voluntary departure last year. the thing is, he was never held in jail at any point, he got picked up, questioned, given a court date and released.
if you can get him out on bond that would be good, like someone else said so he can get affairs in order, work for a while longer, etc.
when my husband was going to court our lawyer stalled as long as possible, asking for three seperate extensions (as many as they allow). He was able to stay almost a year after his initial arrest. If the judge is kind and your BIL has a lawyer who is smart, maybe he can get that kind of time.
HE JUST CAN"T MISS COURT!!!!!
He needs to make sure that Immigration court has the right address for him.

If he can get out of jail he can just act like things are "normal" until he has to go. The first court date he should go without a lawyer and tell the judge that he wasn't able to get a lawyer yet and would like an extension. That will buy him some time, maybe three months if the judge is nice.
Then when he has to leave he needs to stop at a US Consulate and get his paperwork filled out saying when he left, etc.
just make sure he doesn't miss his court date!!!!

[skamiri]

skamiri, i just saw your post today. my husband was granted voluntary departure last year. the thing is, he was never held in jail at any point, he got picked up, questioned, given a court date and released.
if you can get him out on bond that would be good, like someone else said so he can get affairs in order, work for a while longer, etc.
when my husband was going to court our lawyer stalled as long as possible, asking for three seperate extensions (as many as they allow). He was able to stay almost a year after his initial arrest. If the judge is kind and your BIL has a lawyer who is smart, maybe he can get that kind of time.
HE JUST CAN"T MISS COURT!!!!!
He needs to make sure that Immigration court has the right address for him.

If he can get out of jail he can just act like things are "normal" until he has to go. The first court date he should go without a lawyer and tell the judge that he wasn't able to get a lawyer yet and would like an extension. That will buy him some time, maybe three months if the judge is nice.
Then when he has to leave he needs to stop at a US Consulate and get his paperwork filled out saying when he left, etc.
just make sure he doesn't miss his court date!!!!

Thanks...

But he was given court day two days ago and granted voluntary departure. Now nobody answers my calls at the immigration offices to give me the procedure info to start doing what we gotta do. :dunno:

[inlimbo]

My advice? Be persistent. In my experience, DHS was not terribly helpful or customer-service oriented -- in fact they were the complete opposite. I felt like I had to beg and plead every last piece of information out of them. And I would recommend trying to call at different times. I had the same problem - the people at the extension I needed NEVER answered the phone. Be persistent! Good luck.

[nadiah_25]

Hello Skamiri,

I have no idea why he is still detained. Normally once they have their court day, they let them go. Specially if he was granted voluntary departure, I mean he needs to be out to settle his stuff before leave, right?

Does he have a family member that can submit a pettion for him? If so, I think he would need for them to pettion on his behalf. If he does, I belive a good deportation lawyer can do that for him whitout him acually leaving the country, if he qualifies of course. If not, then the best thing is to leave and turn in his pappers while he leaves the country. I have a friend that he did not leave on volunatry departure and they went to his home and took him.

Good luck and I hope this helps a bit...

[azacarias]

My husband was detained July 3rd while we were on vacation in Maine, and has been held in/transferred a number of times to various county prisons in the northeast. He has seen a judge twice now, and been given a continuence both times. We were to have a bond hearing this past monday in Boston, however the court system seems to have taken a "vacation" this past week. His final hearing day was scheduled for this coming Monday and we hope at that time to request bond and voluntary departure. From what my attorney has told me they will either detain the person until a ticket is purchased for the persons return to mexico or if he can be bonded out they give them 60 days to get their papers in order and leave, though you must provide proof that they returned to mexico in a timely fashion (before the 60 days are up). You're very lucky to have been given both bond and voluntary departure, in my case the chances of either appear to be slim. After he returns to mexico he will have to have a petition filed on his behalf, as well as a waiver for hardship approved before he can return to the US. I've been advised that while tempting it is likely not the best idea to illegally return to the US before being given permission by DHS as this will result in federal prison time and he will likely never be able to return with papers. Anyhow, thats as much as i've learned about voluntary departure in the past month! good luck

[MLopez_1988]

If the judge has already granted him voluntary departure then that means he needs to hurry up and get the documents he needs to return to mexico. Ask him if he has an Immigration Officer assigned to him at the detention center. That officer is in charge of his case. He needs to talk to the officer and find out what documents he needs to leave. Most likely he will need a travel document, birth certificate or legal form of ID, and plane tickets purchased (but they have to be Y OPEN-CLASS tickets, no penalty for switching dates) DELTA AIRLINES OFFERS THEM. OH, and DON"T BE SURPRISED AT THE EXPENSIVE PRICE OF THEM. For the travel document you will need to contact your local Mexican consulate and send them or fax them a copy of his original birth certificate saying he's mexican. Once you get everything together, you mail that to the immigration officer's address which your husband should ask for the next time he sees him. Oh and the plane tickets have to be the old fashioned paper tickets, not the electronic via email ones.

[Laura]

Skamiri - does he have a USC spouse?

[mexicanlove]

This seems really bad.........

[Pinkpig]

http://www.humanrightsattorney.com/sub/index.jsp?contentid=iagytWHQdf94xIjVjCBATK5r

You might find some helpful information at this link.

[SAD ANITA]

WELL saddly to say but yes ... please dont pay that bond!!! paying for it would just make his court date take longer and as soon as he goes back to his court date he will get arrested again... those people play games... Trust me ,,,my husband has been detained since may of this year and the only reason was because we file a MTR but was denied even though i am A USC with a USC child ,,, we are married and have a I130 approved ,,, unfortunatetly he has a deportation ,,,now i'm in the process of removing him to go back to mex and i will definatetly file the 212 waiver,,, dont waste your money I have seen a lot of the same cases ,,, and he's better of waitting inside their for his removal ,, or voluntary departure,, which would be way better,,, in the future he can one day get legalized ,,,

[SAD ANITA]

dont pay fo his plane ticket ,,, let them pay for it !