Bronx Immigration Lawyers

Last Updated on: 11th October 2025, 11:05 am

Bronx Immigration Lawyers

Three phone calls arrive within 20 minutes Tuesday morning. Dominican family in Fordham – ICE arrested the father yesterday at Bronx Criminal Court after his case was dismissed. Venezuelan couple in Kingsbridge – they got approved for TPS last year but now USCIS is requesting additional evidence for renewal and they dont understand what documents to submit. Albanian restaurant owner in Belmont – his employee verification audit from ICE is due Friday and he cant locate I-9 forms for half his staff. This is Bronx immigration law – multiple communities, multiple crises, everything urgent.

I’m Todd Spodek. My father practiced immigration law before me. Spodek Law Group has over 50 years combined experience representing Bronx immigrants across every situation. We handle deportation defense at 26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court, family petitions, asylum cases, TPS applications, employment visas, citizenship applications, ICE enforcement defense. High-profile cases include Anna Delvey – the Netflix series. Featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Bloomberg. Call us. We’re available 24/7.

ICE Arrests at Bronx Criminal Court

ICE stations officers at Bronx Criminal Court at 215 East 161st Street. They arrest immigrants after criminal cases conclude – after dismissals, after convictions, after sentences are served. You walk out of the courtroom thinking you’re free. ICE grabs you in the hallway or outside the building.

New York is a sanctuary city. NYPD doesn’t cooperate with ICE detainers. Criminal court doesn’t notify ICE when defendants appear. But ICE monitors court calendars independently, watches who gets arraigned, identifies potential targets.

Fordham resident got arrested for shoplifting. Petit larceny. DA dismissed the case at arraignment – no criminal conviction. He walked out. ICE arrested him based on old deportation order from 2015 that he didn’t know existed. He’s been at Bergen County Jail for six weeks while we file motion to reopen his deportation case.

26 Federal Plaza Immigration Court Backlog

Bronx deportation cases are heard at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan. The court serves Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx. Massive backlog – master calendar hearings scheduled 6-8 months apart, individual merits hearings 18-30 months out from initial master calendar.

Judge assignment is random. Some judges grant asylum in 60%+ of cases from certain countries. Others grant in 5-10%. You can have identical facts and get opposite results depending on which judge hears your case. There’s no way to request a specific judge. Assignment happens when your case enters the system.

When Bronx Families Wait Years

Tremont family filed asylum in 2022. First master calendar: April 2023. Second master calendar: November 2023. Individual hearing scheduled: March 2025. Actual hearing date: postponed to August 2025 because judge had emergency. Rescheduled to January 2026. Total time from filing to decision: potentially 4+ years. They’re working on EADs that expire every two years. Kids are in Bronx public schools. Father works construction. Mother cleans houses. Everything temporary for four years.

TPS Populations in the Bronx

Venezuela TPS covers 600,000+ nationwide. El Salvador TPS: 200,000+. Haiti TPS: 200,000+. Honduras and Nicaragua also have TPS. Bronx has significant populations from all these countries.

TPS grants work authorization and protection from deportation. But it’s temporary – requires renewal every 18 months typically when DHS extends the designation. Each renewal costs $545 filing fee plus biometrics. Family of four: $2,180 every 18 months.

Highbridge Venezuelan family has TPS for five people – two parents, three children over 14. They paid $2,725 for initial applications in 2023. Renewal period opened in 2024. They need to file again. Another $2,725. They’re restaurant workers earning $35,000-$40,000 annually. The TPS fees are crushing.

TPS Doesn’t Lead to Green Cards

TPS provides no pathway to permanent residence. You can maintain TPS for 10-15-20 years and never become eligible for green card based on TPS alone. You need another basis – family petition, asylum approval, employment sponsorship.

Many Bronx TPS holders assume that after years of maintaining status they’ll qualify for adjustment. They don’t. Unless they have U.S. citizen spouse or qualifying relative petition, or win asylum, or find employer to sponsor them, TPS never converts to permanent residence.

Public Charge Denials

Public charge rule allows USCIS to deny green cards if the applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government benefits. They examine income, assets, age, health, education, skills, family size.

Bronx applicants face heavy scrutiny. Many work service jobs earning $30,000-$45,000. They support families of 4-5 people. Household income appears low relative to federal poverty guidelines. USCIS sees this as public charge risk even when the family isn’t receiving any benefits.

Norwood couple applied for wife’s green card through marriage to U.S. citizen husband. He earns $42,000 as building maintenance worker. She works off the books making $25,000. Household income: $67,000 for family of three. Above 125% of poverty guidelines. But USCIS only counts his documented income – $42,000 for three people is below the required threshold. They need joint sponsor or he needs to show significant assets. They don’t have assets. Finding joint sponsor who earns enough and is willing to sign I-864 is difficult.

Bronx Communities and Immigration Pathways

Dominican families file family petitions – F2A for spouses and children of permanent residents, F4 sibling petitions facing 15+ year waits. Mexican families pursue asylum based on gang violence, though many claims face uphill battle under restrictive particular social group standards. West African communities – Ghanaian, Nigerian, Liberian – file asylum based on political persecution, FGM, tribal violence.

Albanian community concentrates in Belmont and Morris Park. Many entered on visitor visas, overstayed. Some have U.S. citizen children now and file for cancellation of removal – ten years continuous presence, good moral character, exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to qualifying relative. Only 4,000 grants available annually nationwide.

Bangladeshi community in Parkchester pursues diverse visa – family immigration, employment-based for IT workers, asylum based on political persecution. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens but still need immigration lawyers for family members abroad.

When Multiple Pathways Exist

Soundview resident is removable based on criminal conviction from 2018. He has three potential defenses: asylum based on political persecution in Dominican Republic, cancellation of removal based on ten years presence and U.S. citizen children, 212(h) waiver of inadmissibility to adjust status through his U.S. citizen wife’s petition. We’re pursuing all three simultaneously. Immigration court handles asylum and cancellation. USCIS handles the I-601 waiver if I-130 gets approved. Different timelines, different adjudicators, different standards. No guarantee any will succeed.

Attorney Access Problems

Many Bronx immigrants can’t afford attorneys. Removal proceedings don’t include appointed counsel – you have right to attorney at your own expense, or you represent yourself. Detained immigrants at Bergen County Jail especially struggle. They’re in New Jersey, families are in Bronx, communication is difficult, hiring attorney while detained is nearly impossible.

We’ve had detained clients try to navigate cancellation of removal applications pro se. They don’t understand burdens of proof. They submit evidence without proper authentication. They don’t know how to examine witnesses. Immigration judges are not required to help pro se respondents understand the law. Many lose winnable cases because they couldn’t afford counsel.

Spodek Law Group Represents All Bronx Communities

We represent immigrants from every Bronx neighborhood – Fordham, Tremont, Kingsbridge, Highbridge, Norwood, Soundview, Parkchester, Belmont, Morris Park, Riverdale. Dominican, Venezuelan, Mexican, Albanian, Bangladeshi, West African, Central American families. Every immigration situation – deportation defense, family petitions, asylum, TPS, employment visas, citizenship, waivers. Call us. We’re available 24/7.