Deportation Attorney Livonia

Searching for the Best Deportation Attorney near Livonia, Michigan?

There are a number immigrants originally from many areas around the globe (the Middle East, Eastern Europe, China, Mexico, etc.), who now reside in Livonia 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) always begins these removal proceedings by drafting a NTA (Notice To Appear), which is immigration paperwork that contains the alleged legal grounds why the person is subject to immigration removal proceedings. This paperwork also provides very brief factual allegations to support the basis for the removal effort. The government agency leading these efforts is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), however DHS is legally represented by ICE for removal proceedings in Immigration Court.

ICE has the discretion to not detain a person; it has the option to allow for an immigration bond so that the person can remain outside of custody while the removal case is being contested in an Immigration courtroom. However, ICE also has discretion to deny any bond and remand the non-citizen into a detention facility (such as the St. Clair County Jail, Chippewa County Jail, Monroe County Jail, Calhoun County Jail, etc.). If the immigration bond is denied by ICE or is too expensive for the person or their family to post, person can (if eligible) submit a motion to the Immigration Judge for release from custody on an immigration bond if the person can establish that he or she does not pose a danger to property, does not pose a danger to any other 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 non-citizen immigrant named in the NTA is subject to “mandatory detention” (which is usually due to a prior criminal history), this will likely result in the custodial detention of the person for the duration of the case, and it will also prevent the Immigration Judge from granting any immigration bond because they lack the authority to give a bond to someone who is subject to mandatory detention. “Arriving aliens” also face immigration detention 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 believes that an immigration bond for the non-citizen immigrant is appropriate (even if ICE objects), 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 a person has in Immigration Court, such as: the right to obtain an immigration removal defense lawyer of their choice to retain (there are no court appointed lawyers in Immigration Court, so retaining an experienced Immigration Attorney is a must do!) to defend the person 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 person; 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 person’s so called rights).

In Immigration Court proceedings ICE counsel is charged with the initial burden to establish that the person 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 meets this initial burden of proof (in the opinion of the Immigration Judge after conducting a hearing or by admission), the person can still timely apply for a couple different 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 person is free to appeal any result or decision against them to the BIA (Board of Immigration Appeals), and is free to appeal the BIA’s negative 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 until the appellate process runs its course).

Hire a Top Rated Immigration Deportation Lawyer near Livonia, Michigan

If facing removal from the United States, hiring the legal services of an intelligent, hard working removal defense attorney is an essential first step for the following reasons: the need to defend the non-citizen 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 non-citizen 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 well known expertise in the Michigan legal community and many years of intensive experience in immigration courtrooms in Michigan and other States, fighting against the government’s removal efforts. Your best decision today is to contact Hilf & Hilf, PLC immediately to seek and retain outstanding removal defense representation for you or a loved one.