Boston Immigration & Nationality Law

Boston ICE Detention and Removal... (re)moved to Burlington!

New address for payment of immigration bonds, as of Monday, 12/10/2007:

        ICE/DRO
        10 New England Executive Park
        Burlington, MA 01803

Phone number: (781) 359-7500.

WARNING: ICE informs that it can't keep its schedule and says that they will be open for business in Burlington on the 11th of December. I'd suggest calling first to make sure...

Paying an immigration bond

When Immigration & Customs Enforcement ("ICE") or the Immigration Court set a bond for a detained alien, the person paying the bond, or "obligor," must bring the amount of money set to an ICE Detention and Removal Office. In Boston, that would be located on the 17th floor of the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Government Center. Address changed; Boston DRO is now located in Burlington, MA.

For ICE to accept payment, the obligor needs the following:

• Photo ID: Driver's License, Passport or other official picture ID. If not a US Citizen, bring Green Card or Employment Authorization Document.
• Verification of Social Security Number:  Social Security Card  or Social Security Form SSA-2458
• Bank check or money order, payable to "Immigration and Customs Enforcement." Personal checks or  cash are not accepted.
• Information about Alien being bonded: Name, Alien number, and address and phone number of place where Alien will live upon release.

Additional pointer: in Boston, payment can be made between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

Declarations at Bond Hearings

28 U.S.C. § 1746 provides a format that can be used, among other things, for declarations in support of aliens in bond hearings.

A declaration should state:

• the name of the declarant;
• Date and place of birth;
• Citizenship, and if a lawful permanent resident of the US (if so, also state A#);
• Address;
• How you know the person seeking bond, and whether you believe that the person seeking bond is likely to return to court if released, and if the person poses a threat to persons or property.

Finally, the declaration should, if signed in the US, state: “I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature)”.

A copy of an identity document of the declarant can be attached to the declaration.

These are helpful to lawyers and courts in bond proceedings. Some immigration judges don't take testimony in that phase of the removal process, and declarations both assist the lawyer in representing to the court that the bond seeker is a fit candidate for bond, and shorten the time required for the hearing.

For Example:

--

1. My name is John Doe.
2. I was born on January 1, 1970.
3. I am a native and citizen of Ireland, and am a permanent resident of the United States, A99-999-999. [OR: I am a native and citizen of the United States OR: I am a naturalized citizen of the United States]
4. I live at 123 Main Street, Anytown, MA12345.
5. I have known Richard Roe for the last 15 years, since he came to the United States. He and his wife are good friends of my wife and myself, and we attend the same church. Richard is an honest, hard working man and I have never known him to cause anyone any trouble. From what I've seen, he is no threat to persons or property, and based on my knowledge of his character, is likely to appear at any and all future court hearings. Please grant my friend Richard Roe bond, so that he can await future proceedings while staying with his family.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 1/1/2007. (Signature).

--

When preparing a bond declaration, give as much factual detail as possible. This will let the judge know that you know what you're talking about, and will assist the judge in determining how credible your declaration is. For example, if you just state that the detainee will appear in the future, without explaining why you think so, the judge may give your declaration little weight.

Strange Immigration and Customs Enforcement Issue

For the second time, I've run across a situation where US Immigration & Customs Enforcement has detained an immigrant that they say has a removal order -- only to find out that, in fact, the immigrant in question never appeared before an immigration judge!

In the most recent case, an immigrant was charged by local police with driving without a license (which can lead to unpleasant interactions with state and federal authorities: Portuguese speaking readers, click here). Apparently, his name matched that of someone with an order of removal (or "deportation" as it was once known) and he was taken into immigration custody. I met with him, heard his story and discussed the case with the Detention and Removal Office, and after a fingerprint check, they agreed that they had the wrong man... and assigned a new alien number for further court proceedings, with a new Notice to Appear to issue.

A mix of bad news, good news, and bad news... sometimes, immigration practice is like that.

Remember, just because Immigration makes a statement, that's not the end of the story!

Fallout from the immigration raids

Community Forum

Curtis Hall, 3rd Floor
20 South Street
Jamaica Plain, (Boston) Massachusetts

1:00 PM on Saturday, April 14th.

This event, targeted at the Spanish speaking community, will feature discussion on the impact of the New Bedford raids and subsequent arrests of immigrant workers.

I'll be providing free consultations to interested persons after the presentations. I hope to see you there!

UPDATE: it was a well attended rally. There were three or four other lawyers answering questions of the attendees; it was great to be able to provide support and legal advice to people who were clearly suffering as a result of the raids. Here's to a saner immigration policy!

Why you should apply for Citizenship as soon as you're eligible

I was in immigration court today for a detained Master Calendar hearing, and while I was waiting for my client's case to be called, watched as a polite, well-spoken young man was ordered deported (or "removed," in immigration court parlance). He had been convicted of a nonviolent drug crime. The surprising thing was that he had been a green card holder for 19 years! He was ordered to return to a country he could likely barely remember, and where he would have an uncertain future.

Realistically, laws can change.  You don't have to fall afoul of the drug laws to get in trouble with immigration... it can be a fight, or a domestic dispute, or something else that could be easily resolved... IF you were  a U.S. Citizen. U.S. Citizens can't be deported... so, think about naturalizing as soon as you're eligible!

Bond Hearings

I see that I haven't written much about EOIR (the Executive Office for Immigration Review,  or Immigration Court) proceedings, so today I want to write about bond hearings. I've been to the Boston Immigration Court more that usual this last week, and I have a matter pending before an Immigration Judge (IJ) in York, Pennsylvania, as well, so this seems like a natural topic.

In some cases, when a foreign national is arrested and detained by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), he or she has a right to a bond determination or re-determination before the Immigration Court. (Re-determination, because ICE can set a bond). When eligible, the client can, through his or her attorney, request a bond hearing. When the court receives the motion, a hearing will be set; at that point, it's my job to show that the client (Respondent, in immigration parlance) is:

1. not a danger to the community, and
2. will likely appear at future hearings.

The ICE District Counsel will generally seek to show the opposite; also, if the client is ineligible for bond due to past convictions or due to being an arriving alien,  that will surely come up at the hearing!

The IJ will then set bond, whether it's to set an initial bond, change or make no change to the bond set by ICE, or raise it to no bond, depending on the results of the hearing. In many cases, the bond hearing is the first opportunity the Respondent has to appear before an IJ, so it is an important step. This is especially true as some people won't have merits hearings for several months, so bond is necessary to avoid waiting in jail in the interim.