It can be a scary and harrowing experience to have a friend or relative taken by ICE right before your eyes. ICE has a habit of coming very early in the morning, sometimes four or five o'clock. They bang on the door, and then come in as soon as the door is opened. After taking the person they were looking for, they will then question everyone in the home, and demand identification.
It is hard to keep your head in a situation like this. Things seems to happen fast. Plus, ICE can be very intimidating. While looking for one particular person, they will often make it look like they are doing everyone else in the home a favor by not taking them in as well.
If you can keep your head, the thing to do is to collect information. Get the names of the ICE officers if possible. See if they will tell you why your relative is being hauled off. ICE may demand to take your relative's forms of identification. Try to write down passport numbers or alien identification numbers. See if the officers will tell where they are taking your relative.
After ICE leaves, you should still try to gather as much information as you can. If you have access to them, look through your relative's papers. Try to find immigration documents. The most important documents will be one that have identification numbers on them, like alien identification numbers or receipt numbers.
Once you have gathered as much information you can, contact an immigration attorney. You should be prepared, however, that things will not happen overnight. When ICE comes to pick someone up, there is usually some criminal conviction somewhere in that person's background. The conviction may be years old, and it may seem unfair to come down on your relative years after he served his sentence. Nonetheless, this is within ICE's legal authority.
If there is a criminal conviction in your relative's background, then there is a good possibility that your relative will be subject to mandatory detention. That is, for certain crimes, the law requires that the alien be placed in detention throughout any immigration proceedings. In these cases, there is no discretion to release the alien on bond.
The most important questions that an immigration lawyer will need to know are:
Is there an order of removal or deportation? What is the alien's criminal record? What is the alien identification number? Does the alien have any U.S. relatives? Would there be any bases of relief available to the alien?To the extent that the lawyer can answer these questions, the lawyer may be able to devise a plan to assist the alien. For example, if there is an old order of removal, the lawyer will need to explore whether there is any basis for re-opening those removal proceedings, such as notice being sent to the wrong address. But even if the proceedings can be re-opened, the lawyer must have some basis for requesting it. It may be that the alien is married to a U.S. citizen and therefore may be able to apply for a visa and waiver of the criminal convictions. Or, it can be that the alien came from a country where his life may in danger if he were to return. Whatever the reason, the lawyer will face resistance to re-opening the proceedings, unless there is some ground to claim relief.
In the end, the lawyer may be the one who needs to do the research and find the information on the person detained. In order to do this, the lawyer will have to file an Entry of Appearance, of form G-28, with ICE. Without a form G-28, ICE will not give the lawyer any information. But, on the other hand, once the lawyer files the G-28, the lawyer will be on the hook as representing the detained person. For this reason, do not be surprised if a lawyer requires you to pay some fee or retainer just so he can file the G-28 and research your relative's case.
The key to this whole process is information. The more accurate information you can provide the lawyer, the better that lawyer's advice will be.
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