There are many immigrants originally from many places around the world (Yemen, Bangladesh, Poland, India, Mexico, etc.), who now reside in Hamtramck Michigan, who are being placed in removal (deportation) proceedings by the US government. A government lawyer for ICE (the Office of Chief Counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement) commences these removal proceedings by drafting and submitting an NTA (Notice To Appear), which is immigration paperwork that contains the alleged legal reasons why the non-citizen is subject to immigration removal proceedings. This paperwork also provides brief factual allegations in support of the removal effort. The government agency leading these over aggressive tactics is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), however DHS is legally represented by ICE for removal proceedings in Immigration Court.
ICE has the option to allow for an immigration bond so that the immigrant can remain outside of custody while the removal case is being contested in Immigration Court. However, ICE also has discretion to deny a bond and remand the non-citizen into a custodial facility (such as the Monroe County Jail, St. Clair County Jail, Chippewa County Jail, Calhoun County Jail, etc.). If the immigration bond is denied by ICE or is too expensive, the immigrant can (if eligible) submit a motion to the Immigration Judge for release from custody on an immigration bond if the immigrant can establish that he or she does not pose a danger to property, does not pose a danger to any person, is not a threat to national security, is not a flight risk, and is eligible for some potential form of immigration relief. If the immigrant named in the NTA is subject to “mandatory detention” (which is usually based upon a prior criminal history), this will likely result in the custodial detention of immigrant for the duration of the case and will prevent the Immigration Judge from granting any amount of immigration bond because they lack the authority to give a bond to someone subject to mandatory detention. “Arriving aliens” also face immigration custody (which, like persons placed in mandatory detention, is confinement in a jail or prison facility) without the possibility to post an immigration bond, and only have extremely small opportunities to argue their immigration case in deportation proceedings (such as a person seeking asylum who successfully demonstrates a “credible fear” which, upon this showing, can later petition for an immigration bond). If the Immigration Court (after listening to both attorneys and over ICE’s usual objections) believes that an immigration bond for the immigrant is appropriate, the minimum bond amount lawfully permitted by the Immigration Judge is $1500 (however, it is in the discretion of the Immigration Judge to set a much higher amount for bond).
There are a few important rights that the immigrant has in Immigration Court, such as: the right to obtain an immigration removal defense attorney of their choice to retain (there are no public defenders in Immigration Court, so retaining an experienced Immigration Attorney is a must!) to defend the immigrant from deportation; the right to be provided with a list of available non-profit legal services; the right to contact the consulate for his or her home country; the right to have an interpreter to translate the court proceedings for the immigrant; due process rights (to examine evidence against the alien, to present evidence, cross examine witnesses, etc.) except to the extent that it involves national security information (the government interest outweighs the immigrant’s so called rights).
In Immigration Court proceedings ICE counsel is charged with the initial burden to establish that the immigrant before the Court is both an alien and removable from the US to their country of citizenship by clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence. If ICE counsel is meets this initial burden of proof (in the opinion of the Immigration Judge after conducting a hearing or by admission), the non-citizen can still timely apply for forms of potentially eligible discretionary relief, which may (but does not always) include: adjustment of status, asylum, cancellation of removal, waivers of inadmissibility and removability, Convention Against Torture (CAT), legalization and registry, withholding of removal, and adjustment of status. The immigrant is free to appeal any bad result or decision to the BIA (Board of Immigration Appeals), and is free to appeal the BIA’s bad result or decision (if the same occurs) to the appropriate United States Federal Court, as long as the appeal is filed in a timely and proper manner (however an appeal may lead to additional detention for the immigrant).
If facing removal to the non-citizen’s country of citizenship, hiring the legal services of a hard working and intelligent removal defense attorney is an essential first step for the following reasons: the need to defend the immigrant against the allegation(s) listed in the Notice To Appear, the need for the immigrant to receive proper advice and critical information concerning all relevant immigration issues, to thoroughly research and present any eligible forms of discretionary relief that may be available on behalf of the immigrant, to seek a low immigration bond (if eligible to receive a bond), to prepare the best available removal defense and present that defense in the most compelling and appropriate ways, to appeal any adverse ruling from an Immigration Judge, etc.
Hilf & Hilf, PLC’s attorneys have expertise and many years of experience in immigration courtrooms in Michigan and other States, fighting against the government’s removal efforts. Your best decision is to contact the immigration attorneys at Hilf & Hilf, PLC immediately to seek and retain outstanding removal defense representation.