Avoiding an Immigration Hold
Immigrants with legal status who get arrested in criminal cases face Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placing an immigration hold or immigration detainer on them so that ICE can take them into custody or start an investigation when they are released.
Regardless of the seriousness of the charges, immigration authorities could be either notified or discover the presence of the immigrant in detention. An immigration hold could be placed on an arrested party at any time at the time of their detention. These ‘immigration holds’ are often placed even before the immigrant has a chance to post bail.
An ‘immigration hold may also appear later during the actual trial or during pre-trial pleading phases of criminal detention. If a non-citizen has an immigration hold, the person may be held for an additional 48 hours arraignment and at some point the person will be surrendered to immigration custody. If a non-citizen is arrested and has an immigration hold, it is important to contact a Los Angeles Criminal Immigration Lawyer who has real experience and success in both criminal law and immigration law.
Once in immigration custody, the non-citizen will often be moved to a distant immigration detention facility. If the non-citizen is moved to immigration custody prior to resolution of their criminal case, the immigration authorities may or may not return the immigrant to criminal court for scheduled criminal court appearances.
Furthermore, the time spent in detention at an immigration facility will not count as credit for time served if and when the immigrant is convicted and sentenced by the criminal court. If immigration charges are filed, the bond is set and the immigration lawyer can obtain a bond re-determination hearing in immigration court within a few days. This can be done by a telephonic hearing if the venue of the immigration court is distant. Criminal defense counsel can sometimes testify by telephone at the immigration bond hearing concerning the weakness of the prosecution case, the likelihood of avoiding a deportable conviction, the client’s favorable equities, and the like. If the non-citizen is not taken into ICE custody, a Criminal Lawyer in Los Angeles will try to get the immigration hold released. Having an immigration hold placed on one is a major disadvantage for an immigrant especially as regards the entire criminal justice system. As an example should an immigrant be arrested for a simple DUI (drinking under the influence) charge, he could be transported and booked into jail and when immigration authorities are notified, they will make a request to the jail authorities, pursuant to Federal Regulations (8 CFR 287.7,) to hold the defendant “for a period not to exceed 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays) to give enough time for ICE to assume custody of the alien.” The law requires that the party be arraigned within 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays. This means that if the non-citizen is arrested while the weekend, then arraignment can be postponed until the following Wednesday.
The best course of action for an immigrant is to avoid placement of an immigration hold altogether by contacting an attorney to secure release before an immigration hold is placed. This way, the non-citizen could never face the trouble of an immigration hold.