Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

Is your inmate currently being held awaiting removal or are they serving a sentence? The general rule is that a person cannot be removed by immigration authorities until he is released from imprisonment. ICE would not deliberately deport a person who has not completed his criminal sentence. Acceleration in this example would not apply. Immigration law has very specific rules governing when a person can be held in immigration custody. Depending on specific factors in your inmate's case; whether you're subject...

The problem is that this country has been taking a tough stance when it comes to illegal immigration. They are holding people for months and months. In this case, the "material witness" issue is not necessarily related to him being an illegal alien. There are rules that allow the prosecution to hold a witness they deem as material to their case if they are fearful that they are a flight risk and ruin their case. Since September 11, 2001, the...

If he is an immigrant that was adopted but did not apply for his citizenship, then he is not a citizen yet. You can't circumvent the citizenship requirements with an adoption or a marriage - you can apply for naturalization which allows you to become a citizen after completing all of the requirements. First, your child must satisfy the criteria set forth in the definition for an adopted “child” in the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.). These criteria apply to all...

The first determination will be the charges against him and does the judge consider him a flight risk or a danger to society. The problem here is that he has a failure to appear which is exactly what the judge will rule on. Our guess is no bail. Being married to a US citizen does not automatically make you a citizen. The courts will contact Homeland Security to see if his immigration status is in jeopardy. We are afraid that...

Illegal reentry after deportation is a federal felony prosecuted under 8 U.S.C. 1326. The sentence your husband receives depends primarily on his prior criminal history and the circumstances of his previous deportation. The Basic Charge - No Prior Criminal Record If your husband was previously deported and has no prior criminal convictions, the maximum sentence under the basic illegal reentry statute is two years in federal prison. In practice, many first-time illegal reentry defendants with no criminal history receive sentences significantly below...

Immigration detention is a system that sits in its own category, separate from both criminal incarceration and the experience most people picture when they think of jail or prison. The people held in immigration detention have not necessarily been convicted of any crime. They are being held for civil immigration violations while their cases work through a separate legal process, and that distinction matters when understanding how they are supposed to be treated versus how they often actually are. On paper,...

When an inmate is released from a federal facility like SeaTac to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the deportation process typically moves faster than most people expect. Once ICE takes custody the clock starts and the process from transfer to actual deportation generally runs a few weeks, assuming the sentence has been fully served and there are no additional legal holds complicating the picture. The timeline depends on a few key factors. If the full sentence has been served and there are...

If an inmate is not a United States citizen, deportation after serving a federal sentence is very likely. Immigration and Customs Enforcement routinely places detainers on non-citizen inmates, meaning the moment they finish their sentence they are transferred to ICE custody and removal proceedings begin. A lengthy sentence combined with a prior criminal record makes deportation even more probable. Dual citizenship changes the picture significantly. If someone holds both U.S. citizenship and citizenship in another country, the U.S. government cannot forcibly...

Immigration detention is one of the most difficult situations to predict with any confidence because the variables are numerous and the political climate surrounding enforcement shifts frequently. What we can do is walk through the factors that will most directly shape what happens next. The initial appearance before an immigration magistrate is the critical first event. At that hearing, a bond determination will be made. If bond is set, that is an encouraging sign. It means the court does not view...

When a jail releases someone to ICE custody, the transfer typically happens quickly, often within hours to a few days of the court order. ICE does not always announce when they will pick someone up, and the process is not publicly tracked in real time. The jail will hold the person until ICE arrives to take custody. Once ICE takes over, what happens next depends on several factors including the person's immigration history, how long they have been in the country,...

There is no single set sentence for crossing the US border illegally. The outcome depends on several factors including criminal history, whether any additional charges are involved, and how the case is processed. For a first-time crossing with no other charges, the most common outcome is detention followed by an immigration hearing rather than a traditional criminal sentence. The person is held in an immigration detention facility while their case is processed and a judge determines whether they will be deported,...

Yes, it is possible, but it is not simple and it does not automatically change anything about the immigration case. An inmate with an immigration detainer can legally get married while in detention. The process requires approval from the facility administrator, and in ICE custody cases, the ICE Field Office Director may also need to sign off. Each facility handles the logistics differently, so the first step is submitting a formal request to administration and finding out exactly what is required...

This situation involves several intersecting legal systems simultaneously and the full answer depends on details specific to your loved one's case. Here is the most accurate general guidance available on each of your questions. Voluntary deportation basics Voluntary deportation, formally called voluntary departure, allows a non-citizen to leave the United States without a formal deportation order on their record. It is generally a better outcome than forced deportation because it preserves some future options for legal reentry. However voluntary departure becomes significantly...