Immigration Detention and Removal: A Guide to Bonds and Hearings

INS Detention, Immigration Bond & Removal Hearings

United States immigration laws have significantly changed over the past few years. These changes have occurred mostly in the detention, deportation, and removal of non-citizens with criminal convictions.

Immigrants facing removal are much more likely to be detained by immigration authorities. The agency in charge of immigration enforcement was called the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

It is now known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a Department of Homeland Security division.

Detainees Are Held Pending Their Removal Hearing

If the detainee cannot secure release by the bond, the detainee will remain incarcerated. Most detainees are held in local jails, and the federal government pays the local authorities a fee for housing them.

ICE Authority In Detention Matters

ICE has access to detention facilities all over the country. Some facilities are used exclusively for people seeking political asylum. It also has the legal authority to incarcerate the accused in any facility it wishes, even if it is located in a different state other than the detainee’s current residence.

No Right To A Court-Appointed Attorney

While the accused in removal hearings has the right to be represented by counsel, the accused does not have the right to a court-appointed attorney if the accused is unable to afford one.

What Is An Immigration Bond?

A bond is a type of insurance that guarantees that the accused will show up at your hearing if they are released from custody.

The INS will determine the amount of money required to post a bond to be released while waiting for one’s removal hearing. This money is called an immigration bond.

Immigration Bond Amounts Vary

The amount of an immigration bond is first determined by the arresting immigration officer and is then approved by his supervisor. The bond is set at the amount the immigration court believes will ensure that the person will return for the hearing date.

Suppose a person establishes a good relationship with the immigration officer, has no criminal record, and does not physically resist the arrest. In that case, the bond will likely be at the low end.

The bond money will be returned once you have departed the US, fulfilled the bond conditions, or become a permanent resident.

Challenging The Amount of The bond

After the bond is set, the bond amount can be challenged by going back to the INS supervisor, or later at a hearing before an immigration judge, or even later at a second-level hearing before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The challenge is referred to as a “bond redetermination hearing,” meaning that the bond could be decreased, remain the same, or increase.

Incarceration Without Bond

The INS must incarcerate without bond persons who are deportable for serious crimes or suspected terrorism. A person may be released only if he is in the Witness Protection Program and the Attorney General is satisfied that the person does not pose a danger to other persons or property.

The Removal Hearing

The period that follows the setting of the bond and the redetermination of the bond is called the “hearing” stage and involves two steps. The case is placed on an accelerated calendar if the detainee is still in custody because they cannot afford to post a bond.

First Stage of Hearing Process

The first stage in this hearing process is referred to as the pre-hearing or master calendar hearing. Here, the immigration judge schedules large numbers of cases simultaneously to determine which cases will be complicated and which can be resolved quickly.

If the detainee has not given much information to the INS officer and the detainee is not challenging the removal, the case could be decided at this hearing.  If not, another hearing will need to be set up and heard on its merits.

Second Stage of Hearing Process

If the detainee is applying for permanent residency, asylum, or relief from deportation, the judge will set the matter as a “merits” hearing. In many locations, these hearings are scheduled up to a year later or more. Usually, depending on the preliminary merits of the case, the detainee will be released from custody pending the full hearing.

Immigration lawyers

Should you have further questions, consider a consultation with an online immigration lawyer.

U.S Immigration Website