Will an undocumented person be jailed or deported

It depends on the charges and how immigration gets involved, but here is how it usually plays out.

If your boyfriend has no legal status, there are typically two separate systems involved:

• The criminal court (for the arrest)
• Immigration authorities (for his status)

What happens first:
He will go through the normal criminal process:

• See a judge
• Be informed of the charges
• Possibly be given bail or held depending on the case

If the charge is minor and this is truly his first arrest, he may:

• Get released quickly
• Or resolve the case with little or no jail time

Where immigration comes in:
If immigration places a detainer (ICE hold) on him:

• He will not be released, even if he bonds out on the criminal case
• He will be transferred to immigration custody

After that:

• Immigration will start removal proceedings
• In many cases, deportation becomes likely, especially without legal status

Important points:

• He is usually not deported immediately after seeing a judge
• The criminal case often happens first, then immigration takes over
• The seriousness of the charge can affect how long he stays in custody before deportation

Bottom line
If he has no papers, there is a strong chance immigration will get involved at some point. Whether he does jail time first depends on the charge, but deportation is a very real possibility once the case is finished or if an ICE hold is placed.