Facing deportation hearings, also called removal proceedings, is a stressful and terrifying experience for immigrants. What comes next and how your loved ones cope is unpredictability. A deportation hearing is a legal proceeding that is a life-changing occurrence and can disrupt families and uproot lives. This blog breaks down the deportation process. You learn what to anticipate and the legal options available.
The Basics of Deportation Hearings
Removal proceedings usually arise from committing certain acts, like violating the country’s criminal or immigration laws. Common criminal or immigration law violations include the following:
- Entering the U.S. illegally when you have been considered inadmissible.
- Being found guilty of particular crimes.
- Violating terms and conditions of your immigration or visa status.
Even minor violations could result in removal proceedings. It is, therefore, always wise to remain cautious and seek legal counsel if you are unsure of your immigration status.
USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) is the federal agency handling legal entry into the country. Meanwhile, ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) oversees removal and enforcement operations. The EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review) oversees all immigration court-related procedures. Because of the intricate rules surrounding these deportation hearings, they can feel challenging and daunting.
How Removal Proceedings Are Like
When ICE detains you, it forwards the matter to the DHS (Department of Homeland Security). The DHS then decides whether or not to initiate a deportation hearing. Immigration courts have a backlog of cases. So, if you do not face mandatory removal, the DHS will release you. Those the DHS is highly likely to set free are individuals qualified to adjust the status to legal from illegal. On the other hand, those who face mandatory deportation are those inadmissible to the United States or those with severe criminal convictions.
If the DHS’s prosecutor does not release you, they will take your case to immigration court, accompanied by Form I-862. Immigration courts are not deemed criminal courts. They are civil (administrative) courts. Proceedings in immigration courts are presided over by an immigration judge.
If your case goes to immigration court, the court will likely serve you with an NTA (Notice to Appear). An immigration officer will serve you with the NTA. They may do it in person or via mail to your last-known home address. If you have an attorney of record, the officer will also send them a copy of the NTA.
The NTA will state your charges and why authorities believe you are deportable from the country. It also provides the location and date of your master calendar hearing. Serving the NTA is what officially prompts the start of the deportation proceedings.
Master Calendar Hearing (MCH)
The MCH is your initial appearance before the presiding immigration judge. The judge will need you to deny or confirm the accusation in the Notice to Appear at this hearing. They will also allow you to seek relief from deportation if you qualify. You want to show up at your MCH. Failure to do so could lead to the court issuing an automatic removal order against you.
The MCH is brief, generally only fifteen to sixty minutes (although it might take longer than that for the court to call the case). No witnesses or evidence are presented during this hearing. Rather, the judge reviews the charges you face, advises you about legal defenses to removal, and sets dates for:
- The main removal proceedings, known as the individual or merits hearing (during which you will present witnesses, arguments, and other pieces of admissible evidence),
- The submission or filing of various forms or documents with the court.
The things you can do during your master calendar proceedings include:
- Requesting asylum in the U.S. or other forms of protection against torture or persecution.
- Requesting more time to hire an attorney.
- Requesting a bail hearing (if you are still locked up).
- Requesting for an interpreter.
Based on the intricacy of your case, there might be multiple master calendar hearings.
Before the court holds the merits or individual hearing, the judge or either side can demand a prehearing conference. Prehearing conferences permit the defense side, the government, and the judge to agree (stipulate) on given facts and determine the matters to be decided upon during the hearing.
Additionally, the judge may order the defense and government sides to file prehearing briefs if useful. Prehearing briefs consist of legal arguments and references that may assist the judge in issuing a determination. Parties usually file prehearing briefs even if the judge has not requested them.
Also, before the individual hearing, the defense or DHS might wish to file a motion seeking the judge to do or not do something. Such motions are called prehearing motions and often necessitate a hearing. You do not have to appear at these hearings if you have attorney representation.
Typical motions filed before the individual hearing include, without limitation, requests to:
- Hold a prehearing conference.
- Issue a subpoena against a given party.
- Move the hearing to another immigration court.
- Extend the period for submitting documents.
Individual or Merits Hearing
An individual hearing (merits hearing) is the primary proceeding in immigration courts. It equals a trial in criminal court. This is the stage where you will make legal assertions and submit evidence about your right to remain in the United States.
This hearing generally lasts 3-4 hours, although it does not necessarily end in one day. Often, the court postpones these hearings to a court date multiple months, weeks, or years from the first hearing date. Things you can do at the merits hearing are:
- Testify in support of your case and present evidence.
- Present relevant documents.
- Present other witnesses to testify on your behalf.
- Make legal assertions on why the government should allow you to stay in the country.
Attending Any Additional Court Hearings
Based on the facts surrounding your situation, you may have to be subject to more hearings. Every hearing serves a particular purpose. Even though additional hearings do not apply to all cases, you want to know about them just in case you are subject to any of them.
Rescission Hearings
The USCIS assesses the provided details to determine whether there was a reason you never should have been a permanent resident when you received your status. After the USCIS has rescinded your lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, it will issue a NOIR (Notice of Intent to Rescind). This notice reflects why you do not qualify to adjust your immigration status.
Bond Redetermination Hearings
Sometimes, DHS can release detained immigrants from custody after they post a bond. Initially, the DHS sets the bond amount. However, that is not the final decision. You can demand a bond hearing and request the court modify the amount. The court will consider various factors when deciding on the bond hearing. These factors might include your immigration status, employment situation, and whether or not you pose any danger to society.
At the bond proceedings, the judge can redetermine the bond value the DHS set. You or the DHS can appeal the ruling rendered at the bond hearing to the BIA (Board of Immigration Appeals). Bond proceedings are a distinct hearing from deportation proceedings. They are a provisional course of action for your detention release until you make immigration court appearances.
The Judge’s Decision
The judge will look at all pieces of evidence both sides have presented and give their determination. If you had requested asylum or other kind of relief, the judge would decide whether or not to grant it. The judge might render a verbal decision after the hearing ends or take a little time to look into the issue and give a written or oral decision later.
Should the judge issue an oral decision, the court will give you and the DHS a signed summary order. Should the judge issue a decision in writing, the court will mail it to you or, where applicable, your lawyer.
It is crucial to have a solid, well-documented case and be ready to respond to questions regarding your situation. The immigration judge’s decision is final except if the defense or the DHS appeals to the BIA within thirty days. The BIA’s decision on the case is, in turn, appealed to a federal court of appeals.
If you prevail in the removal proceedings and the judge permits you to remain in the U.S., the DHS will give you post-order directives. The instructions describe what steps you must take to acquire documentation of your immigration status.
However, the DHS has thirty days to appeal the judge’s ruling to the BIA. It might waive the right to file an appeal. However, the case remains open until it waives that right or the deadline elapses without it appealing.
If you lose at the proceedings, you can appeal the judge’s ruling to the BIA. Once the individual hearing ends, the court will ask whether you wish to appeal. If you do not, the ICE can immediately commence the removal process. Otherwise, you have thirty days to appeal. If you miss this deadline, you will be subject to deportation.
By law, the ICE has ninety days to remove a person after the final removal order. However, the actual period depends on how challenging it is to acquire travel documents and whether your country of origin is open to taking you back. Specifically, this could take between several days and several months.
If the process takes over half a year, you have the right to bond proceedings. Per a ruling by the United States Supreme Court, immigrants cannot stay detained indefinitely when no practical chance exists that they will face removal (for example, because their country of origin will not have them back). These immigrants might be freed on supervised release (the same as parole).
Types of Relief from Deportation
Navigating the various kinds of relief from deportation can be intricate. Each type of relief has specific criteria. The reliefs may also need additional documentation to corroborate your request. These are the different types of relief you can pursue if you are undergoing removal proceedings:
Adjustment of Status
Adjustment of status is the process by which you might apply for a green card or LPR status while in the United States. That means you can become an LPR without returning to your country of origin to process your visa.
Asylum
Every immigrant in the United States may seek asylum if they reasonably fear being persecuted once they land in their country. After one year of being an asylee, you may seek a green card if the asylum terms and conditions still apply.
Cancellation of Deportation
Cancellation of deportation is a type of pardon whereby the judge permits an individual to remain in the country as an LPR. This form of relief is divided into two types. The first applies to lawful permanent residents who have lived in the country for not less than seven years and have become deportable. The second applies to undocumented aliens who have stayed in the United States for no less than ten years.
Regarding the latter type, apart from the ten-year requirement, you should prove that removal from the country could result in exceptionally abnormal hardship to your loved ones residing in the U.S.
Stay of Removal
The DHS or immigration judge can grant you a stay of deportation. This application temporarily stops your deportation for different reasons. Among the reasons for staying a removal are humanitarian reasons, medical emergencies, or pending appeals.
Through ICE, the DHS assesses your inadmissibility or admissibility for a stay of deportation. ICE might need you to provide documentation or evidence to support your stay of removal application. If you fail to submit or file the application and the required documents, the DHS or immigration judge will deny your request for a stay of deportation.
Find a Knowledgeable Immigration Attorney Near Me
When facing deportation proceedings, you cannot overplay the significance of hiring a skilled immigration lawyer. Their guidance and expertise make all the difference between losing and winning your case, protecting your right to stay in the country.
Should you find yourself in this situation in California, we at California Immigration Attorney can help. We understand how deportation hearings can be stressful for immigrants and their loved ones and are devoted to securing the best possible outcome. Do not hesitate to call us at 424-789-8809 for expert legal representation or to learn more about removal proceedings.