Detained removal defense
ICE is holding the person. The removal case now runs on a detained docket where the judge sets deadlines in days, and the question of release runs on a separate track that does not wait for it. Every defense on this site is still available. It has to be assembled from outside, fast, by people who are not the one in custody. If someone was taken today, call before you read the rest of this page.
Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.
If someone was detained today
Call (718) 484-7510. Have ready, if you can: the person's full legal name exactly as it appears on their documents, date of birth, country of birth, the A-number if you know it, whether they have ever been removed or ordered removed before, and where and when they were taken.
Do not wait to gather everything. Call with what you have.
Two separate fights, running at the same time
Families almost always think of this as one problem. It is two, they proceed on different tracks, and neither waits for the other.
Getting out
Release comes through bond, through parole, or, where the immigration court will not act, through a federal habeas petition. Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.19, bond hearings are separate from removal proceedings. This is about custody, not about the merits of the case, and our detention practice handles it.
Staying in the country
The removal case: contesting the charge, every application for relief, and the record built for appeal, all on a detained docket that moves in days. This is what this site covers, and how removal proceedings work is the map.
Icebail.com is our detention practice. It covers locating someone in ICE custody, bond hearings before the immigration court, the bond factors, parole requests, and federal habeas petitions. If the immediate question is how to get someone out, start there. This page stays on the removal case.
Bond and habeas at icebail.com →
Which custody statute applies, and why it is a legal question
ICE will tell a family whether the person is "eligible for bond." That is ICE's reading of the statute, not a ruling. Which provision governs custody decides whether a judge can hold a bond hearing at all, and it is the first legal question in a detained case.
INA 236(a): discretionary custody
For most people arrested inside the country, custody is governed by INA 236(a), and an immigration judge may redetermine custody under 8 C.F.R. 1003.19 and 1236.1(d). Under Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006), the questions are danger to the community and flight risk. How that hearing is prepared and won is on icebail.com.
INA 236(c): mandatory detention
For listed criminal and security grounds, INA 236(c) requires detention without a bond hearing. The Laken Riley Act, Pub. L. 119-1, signed January 29, 2025, added a new category at INA 236(c)(1)(E). It reaches a person who is inadmissible under INA 212(a)(6)(A), (6)(C) or (7), that is, present without admission, inadmissible for fraud or misrepresentation, or without valid documents, and who is charged with, arrested for, convicted of, admits having committed, or admits the essential elements of theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or a crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury. A charge, an arrest or an admission is enough; no conviction is required. It does not, by its terms, reach a person who was admitted or a lawful permanent resident. Under Nielsen v. Preap, 586 U.S. 392 (2019), mandatory detention does not require that ICE take custody immediately on release from criminal custody, so a years-old charge can bring a person within 236(c) today. And under Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281 (2018), there is no implied right to a bond hearing after six months under 1225(b), 1226(a) or 1226(c).
Whether a particular conviction or charge actually falls within 236(c) is decided under the same categorical approach that governs removability, and it is contested the same way. See criminal convictions and removal.
The split: people who entered without inspection and were arrested inside the country
In Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025), the Board held that persons who entered without inspection are "applicants for admission" detained under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(A), and are not eligible for bond hearings before an immigration judge at all, wherever and whenever they were arrested.
In Hernandez Alvarez v. Warden, FDC Miami, No. 25-14065, decided May 6, 2026, in a published opinion, the Eleventh Circuit held the opposite: unadmitted noncitizens arrested in the interior are detained under 8 U.S.C. 1226 and are eligible for bond hearings.
Both decisions stand. The Board's decision binds immigration judges nationwide except where a court of appeals has held otherwise, and the Eleventh Circuit's decision binds in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Which rule applies to your relative depends on where the case is, and the question is being litigated elsewhere. We state both here and do not predict how the split resolves.
Reinstated orders: INA 241
If the person was removed before and came back, the prior order is reinstated under INA 241(a)(5) from its original date. It is not subject to being reopened or reviewed, and the person is not eligible for relief under the Act, except withholding of removal and CAT protection through a reasonable fear screening under 8 C.F.R. 208.31. Under Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, 594 U.S. 523 (2021), a person with a reinstated order is detained under INA 241, not 236, and is not entitled to a 236(a) bond hearing. See reinstatement of removal. A prior removal changes everything, and it is the first thing to tell the lawyer.
The detained docket's speed
Detained cases are heard on a separate docket that moves on short timelines because the person is in custody. In non-detained cases the Immigration Court Practice Manual sets filing deadlines of 15 and 30 days before hearings. In detained cases, under chapter 2.1, the deadlines are whatever the judge specifies, and they are often measured in days. Under Matter of A-K-R-, 29 I&N Dec. 839 (BIA 2026), decided August 14, 2026, the only fixed time protection for obtaining counsel is that the first hearing may not be set earlier than 10 days after service of the Notice to Appear; any further continuance to find a lawyer is in the judge's discretion. Treat the first continuance as the only one.
That speed cuts both ways. Nobody wants to spend two years waiting. But a compressed schedule means less time to get certified conviction records, obtain a medical or psychological evaluation for a hardship case, gather ten years of presence evidence for cancellation, get documents from abroad translated, or prepare a witness. The work that a non-detained case spreads over a year has to happen in weeks, and the detained person cannot do any of it.
Every defense on this site is still available. In order:
- Read the Notice to Appear against the statute and raise any objection to a missing time or place before pleadings, under Matter of Fernandes, 28 I&N Dec. 605 (BIA 2022). Detained cases plead fast, and the objection is forfeited fast. See defective Notices to Appear.
- Make the government prove the charge. Under INA 240(c)(3)(A), DHS must prove deportability of an admitted person by clear and convincing evidence. A detained case that began with a street or home arrest is exactly where a motion to suppress and a rebuttal of the I-213 matter most. See contesting removability.
- File every application in the alternative, by the judge's deadline, from the relief list. A missed deadline can mean an application deemed abandoned.
- Build the record for appeal. The Board reviews facts for clear error, and after Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, No. 24-777 (Mar. 4, 2026), the court of appeals defers to the agency's findings. What is not in the record is gone. See the individual hearing.
Where detained hearings happen
Detained hearings are held at the court serving the facility, often by video, and transfers between facilities are common. A transfer to another state changes the court and can change the circuit whose law governs, including on the bond question above. In South Florida, the detained court is at the Krome North Processing Center, 18201 SW 12th St., Miami, FL 33194, 786-422-8700; the Broward Transitional Center is a detention facility, not a court. In New York, a federal court order in African Communities Together v. DHS/ICE (S.D.N.Y. May 18, 2026) limits ICE civil arrests at the three Manhattan immigration courts. Court details are on Miami, New York, and Newark.
How to get documents to a detained person
The short answer is: mostly, you do not. The case is filed and built from outside, and the person in custody reviews and signs.
- Originals stay outside. Identity documents, passports, birth certificates, medical records and court records are gathered by family and kept by counsel. Nothing irreplaceable goes into a facility.
- Evidence is filed electronically. Attorneys of record file with the immigration court through ECAS under 8 C.F.R. 1003.31. The detained person does not need a copy in hand for it to be in the record.
- Review happens by legal visit, phone or video. Counsel walks the person through the application and the declaration before filing. Each facility has its own rules for legal calls and visits, and they change; we confirm them before each contact.
- Signatures are collected in person. Applications and declarations are prepared outside, in the person's language and in English, and brought in for signature.
- Mail to the facility follows the facility's rules, which differ and are not published in one place. Ask before sending anything, and never send originals.
- Do not let the person sign anything they do not understand. That goes especially for a request for voluntary departure, a waiver of appeal, a withdrawal of an application, or anything nobody translated properly.
What families should do first
- Locate the person. Use ICE's online detainee locator. People are transferred between facilities, sometimes across states, so check again if the first search finds nothing.
- Write down the A-number and keep it private. Every immigration matter runs on it. Do not send it through a website contact form, including ours.
- Find out whether there has ever been a prior removal order, an in absentia order, or a prior immigration case of any kind. It decides which custody rule applies and what relief remains.
- Learn which court has the case, whether a hearing has been set, and whether anything has been signed. The EOIR case status system reports hearing dates but not bond proceedings.
- Start gathering evidence on the outside. Certified dispositions of every arrest. Proof of presence for every year. Proof of family ties and status. Medical records for any qualifying relative. The detained person cannot do this.
- Get counsel involved early. The compressed timeline is the whole problem. A week lost at the beginning is not recoverable later.
Read next: contesting removability, motions to suppress, reinstatement of removal, or expedited removal.
Common questions
Is bond the same thing as the removal case?
No. Bond is about release from custody while the case proceeds, and under 8 C.F.R. 1003.19 bond hearings are separate from removal proceedings. The removal case is about whether the person is removable and whether the judge will grant relief. They are separate proceedings on separate timelines, and both can be happening at once. Our bond and habeas practice is at icebail.com; this site covers the removal case.
Who can get a bond hearing at all?
It depends on which statute the person is held under. INA 236(a) allows a discretionary custody redetermination. INA 236(c) requires detention without bond for listed criminal and security grounds, and the Laken Riley Act, Pub. L. 119-1, added persons who are inadmissible for entering without admission, for fraud, or for lacking documents and who are charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admit committing theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or a crime causing death or serious bodily injury. Whether a person who entered without inspection and was arrested in the interior is held under 236 at all is currently disputed between the Board and the Eleventh Circuit.
What if the person had a prior removal order?
Then the order is likely to be reinstated under INA 241(a)(5), and under Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, 594 U.S. 523 (2021), a person with a reinstated order is detained under INA 241 and is not entitled to a bond hearing under 236(a). The prior order cannot be reopened or reviewed, and the only protection available is withholding of removal or CAT through a reasonable fear screening under 8 C.F.R. 208.31. Tell the lawyer about any prior removal immediately.
How do I get documents to someone in detention?
Mostly, you do not. Originals stay outside. Counsel files evidence with the court electronically through ECAS under 8 C.F.R. 1003.31, and the detained person needs only to review it, which counsel arranges by legal visit, phone or video. Anything the person must sign, such as an application or a declaration, is prepared outside and brought in for signature. Each facility has its own mail and visit rules, which change; ask before sending anything.
Tell us where your case is. We will tell you what is still possible.
You get a free case review with an attorney, in your language. We speak English, Russian, Spanish and Uzbek in-house, and we bring in a live interpreter for anything else. We will tell you what stage you are at, which forms of relief are open to you, what your deadlines are, and whether we can help. If we cannot, we will say so.