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Ice Hold After Criminal Arrest
The jail officer slides a piece of paper through the slot in the cell door. Form I-247D, it says at the top. Immigration Detainer – Notice of Action. Your stomac drops—wait, no, that’s not even the right way to think about it. The panic hits immediatly. You just got arrested for DUI, a stupid mistake, you know that. But now this? You made bail. Your family scraped together the money. But the guard just told you your not going anywhere. ICE wants you held.
Your wife is crying on the phone asking what this means, and honestly? You don’t know either.
Here’s what just happened: You didn’t just get arrested for a crime. You triggered two seperate legal systems at once—criminal and immigration. The local police ran you’re fingerprints, that information got shared with ICE, and now your looking at detention that could last days, weeks, or months irregardless of what happens with your criminal case. This isn’t just about the DUI anymore. Its about weather you get to stay in the country at all.
What Is an ICE Hold, Actually?
An immigration detainer (that Form I-247D you just recieved) is basically a request from ICE to your local jail. Their asking the jail to hold you for up to 48 additional hours beyond when you would normally be released. Its not a deportation order—your not being deported yet—but it is ICE saying “we want this person, don’t let them go.”
Here’s what alot of people don’t realize: the detainer itself isn’t a criminal charge. Its a civil immigration matter. The jail doesn’t have to honor it in many places, but weather they do depends entirely on where your being held. In Texas or Florida? They’ll hold you indefinately as a “courtesy” to ICE. In California or New York? They might only hold you for 48 hours, or not at all. Sometimes they won’t hold you at all.
The form tells you why ICE placed the detainer. Usually its because your a non-citizen and they beleive you might be removeable. Could be your visa expired years ago. Could be your a green card holder and this arrest triggered a review. Could be they think your undocumented based off the information they recieved during booking.
But here’s the thing—an ICE hold doesn’t mean you’ve been convicted of anything. You haven’t even had you’re criminal trial. ICE doesn’t wait for that. They see an arrest, they run you through there system, and if anything flags, boom. Detainer placed. Sometimes within hours.
There’s actually no legal requirement that ICE pick you up. The detainer is just a request. Weather they actually come get you depends on there resources, you’re case, and there enforcement priorities. In 2025, those priorities include basically everyone with any criminal arrest, even misdemeanors. So yeah, they’re probly coming.
The First 48 Hours: Your Critical Window
So you’ve got the detainer notice. What happens next? Timing becomes everything.
If your in a sanctuary jurisdiction—San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, parts of Los Angeles—the local jail will probably only hold you for a maximum of 48 hours beyond you’re scheduled release time. Not a minute longer. This is you’re window. If ICE doesn’t physically show up within those 48 hours, the jail has to let you go.
But heres the catch: ICE knows this to. They watch the jail’s release schedules like hawks. If you’re release time is 3pm on Friday, they might wait til Monday morning, hoping you’ll still be their. Some jails use a “rolling 48 hours” interpretation where the clock resets each day. Legally dubious? Absolutley. Does it happen anyways? All the time.
What should your family be doing during these first 48 hours? Everything. First, they need to figure out exactly when your 48-hour window expires. Call the jail. Document it. Have someone waiting outside the jail at hour 47 with a car ready. I’ve seen cases where ICE shows up at hour 46, and I’ve seen cases where the person walks out at hour 49 and ICE never came.
Second, evidence preservation. Surveillance footage from wherever you were arrested? Overwritten in 7-30 days. Witness memories fade fast. Your family needs to be collecting everything now: photos, witness names and contact info, phone records, GPS data if avalable, medical records if you were injured. All of it.
Third, find a lawyer. Actually, find two lawyers. More on that in a second.
What’s ICE doing during these 48 hours? Running you through there databases, confirming your immigration status, deciding weather to pursue removal proceedings. Their building a file on you. Your not just sitting in jail—your being processed by a second system you didn’t even know you were in until now.
Criminal Case vs. Immigration Case: The Dual Nightmare
Look, here’s the deal. You now have two completely seperate legal cases happening at the same time.
Your criminal case is in state or federal criminal court. If its state court (most arrests are), you might qualify for a public defender if you cant afford an attorney. The criminal case is about weather you committed the crime your accused of.
Your immigration case is in immigration court—EOIR, Executive Office for Immigration Review, which is part of the Department of Justice. Its a civil proceeding. And here’s the kicker: you do NOT get a free attorney for immigration court. Can’t afford one? You represent yourself. Period.
So your sitting in jail with two cases, and you can only afford help with one of them (maybe). Which one matters more? Both. But they matter in different ways.
Your criminal case outcome directly affects your immigration case. Get convicted of certain crimes—aggravated felonies, crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled substance violations, domestic violence—and you might be automatically deportable with no relief available. Get acquitted or get charges dismissed? Your immigration case looks alot better.
But your public defender doesn’t know immigration law. Or worse, they think they know it but they don’t. There overworked (120+ cases each), and focused on closing your criminal case as fast as possible. If they can get you “time served” and immediate release from criminal custody, they think thats a win.
Except your not being released. ICE is taking you. And that “great plea deal” your public defender just negotiated? It might of triggered mandatory deportation.
This is the public defender conflict. I’m not saying public defenders are bad people—most of them care about there clients. But immigration law is incredibly complex, and criminal defense attorneys should of had specialized training in it, but most don’t. The Supreme Court ruled in Padilla v. Kentucky that criminal attorneys have a duty to warn clients about immigration consequences. But “warn” is a pretty low bar.
The Plea Deal Trap: Examples That Destroy Immigration Cases
This is probly the most important section. If you take nothing else away, take this: not all criminal convictions are equal in immigration court.
Your prosecutor doesn’t care about you’re immigration status. Some prosecutors actively use immigration consequences as leverage. They know most criminal defense attorneys don’t fully understand immigration law, so they offer deals that sound amazing criminally but are deportation death sentences.
Real example: Your charged with assault with a deadly weapon (a felony). Prosecutor offers to reduce it to aggravated assault, 6 months probation, no jail time. Your criminal attorney is thrilled. You’d be released immediatly, no prison time. Take the deal, right?
Wrong. Dead wrong.
Aggravated assault is classified as an aggravated felony under immigration law. If your convicted of an aggravated felony, you are automatically deportable. No judge discretion. No relief available. No cancellation of removal. No asylum. Your gone.
But simple assault? Not an aggravated felony. So even if you had to serve 12 months in jail for simple assault instead of 6 months probation for aggravated assault, the immigration outcome is dramatically different. With simple assault, you might still have options. With aggravated assault? No options.
Your criminal attorney just recommended you take more jail time to avoid the aggravated felony, right? Probly not. Because they didn’t think about it. Or they don’t know the INA categories.
More examples:
Drug offenses: Possession of marijuana (even a misdemeanor, even if its legal in your state) can make you deportable. Paraphernalia charge? Not deportable. So if your caught with a joint, your attorney should be trying to plead to paraphernalia, not possession.
Theft amounts: Stealing $999 vs. stealing $1,001. One dollar differance. But many theft crimes become “crimes involving moral turpitude” if the amount exceeds $1,000. So your attorney should be fighting to keep that amount under the threshold.
Domestic violence: Any domestic violence conviction makes you deportable. Plus you get a federal firearms ban. But disturbing the peace? Not a domestic violence offense for immigration purposes, even if the underlying facts involved a domestic dispute.
Sentence length: 364 days vs. 365 days. One day differance. But 365 days (one year) is the threshold for certain aggravated felony classifications. So if your facing a sentence, and your attorney can negotiate 364 days instead of 365, that one day could be the difference between deportable and not.
Questions you need to ask your criminal attorney before accepting any plea:
“Is this offense classified as an aggravated felony under INA 101(a)(43)?”
“Is this a crime involving moral turpitude?”
“Does this trigger the domestic violence deportation ground?”
If your attorney doesn’t know the answers immediatly, they don’t know immigration law well enough. You need an immigration attorney to review before you take the plea. Even if it means delaying the criminal case.
I’ve seen it happen so many times. Guy takes a plea deal, gets out of jail feeling like he dodged a bullet, and three months later he’s in deportation proceedings with zero relief available. And its permanent. You can’t undo a conviction easily.
Getting Out: Bond Hearings and Release Options
Your still detained. Either the 48-hour window passed and ICE picked you up, or your in a jurisdiction where the jail just holds you indefinately for ICE.
First, understand that criminal bond and immigration bond are completely different. You might of made bail on the criminal case, but that doesn’t matter anymore. You need an immigration bond to get out.
Not everyone qualifies for an immigration bond hearing. If you’ve been convicted of an aggravated felony, certain drug crimes, or terrorism-related offenses, your in mandatory detention. No bond hearing. You sit in detention until you’re case is resolved or you’re deported. This can take months. Sometimes years.
If you qualify for a bond hearing, you have to request one. You don’t automatically get one. The process varies by detention facility, but generally you or your attorney file a motion with the immigration court requesting a bond hearing.
Here’s what the judge looks at: Are you a flight risk? Are you a danger to the community? Do you have ties to the United States—family, job, property? What’s your criminal history?
The judge has complete discretion. And this is where geographic variation becomes huge. Immigration Judge Rodriguez in New York grants bond in 78% of cases, average bond $7,500. Immigration Judge Martinez in Louisiana grants bond in 12% of cases, average bond $25,000. Same case, different outcome based solely on which judge you get.
ICE knows this. When they arrest you, they might transfer you from you’re arrest location (sanctuary city) to a detention facility in a harsh jurisdiction. Your bond hearing happens where your detained, so now you’ve got Judge Martinez instead of Judge Rodriguez. Your odds just went from 78% to 12%.
What evidence do you need? Everything that shows your not going to run:
– Lease or mortgage showing stable housing
– Employment letters
– Family ties (birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records for your kids)
– Community ties (letters from church, community organizations)
– Evidence of rehabilitation if you have criminal history
– Proof you’ve complied with immigration authorities in the past
If you don’t have an attorney, you’ll be presenting all this yourself. ICE will have an attorney there arguing you shouldn’t get bond. Its adversarial.
Trust me on this: The bond hearing is you’re best shot at getting out. Prepare for it like you’re life depends on it.
If You Can’t Afford Two Attorneys: Triage Strategy
Let’s be real. Immigration attorneys charge $5,000 to $15,000 for removal defense. Criminal defense attorneys charge $3,000 to $7,000. That’s potentially $20,000+ in legal fees. Most people don’t have that.
So what do you do?
First, understand which attorney is more critical for you’re specific situation. If your criminal case is strong (weak evidence, likely to get charges dismissed), then your immigration attorney is more critical. If your criminal case is weak (they caught you red-handed), then you need both attorneys coordinating on the plea deal.
If you absolutely can only afford one attorney, hire the immigration attorney and work with the public defender on the criminal case. The public defender is free (if you qualify). You can educate them. Print out the deportability grounds from the INA. Tell them explicitly: “I need to avoid an aggravated felony conviction. I need to plead to simple assault, not aggravated assault.”
Some public defenders will listen. Some won’t. If yours won’t, request a new one.
Free and low-cost immigration help exists, but its limited:
– Law school immigration clinics
– Nonprofit legal aid organizations
– Pro bono programs through bar associations
– Immigration Advocates Network directory
The reality is that many people in removal proceedings represent themselves. The numbers are brutal: represented immigrants win about 60% of the time. Unrepresented immigrants win about 10% of the time.
Fighting Back: Your Immigration Defense Options
So your in removal proceedings. ICE wants to deport you. What are you’re actual options?
Cancellation of Removal is the big one. For green card holders: You need to have been a permanent resident for at least 5 years, lived in the U.S. continuously for 7 years, and not been convicted of an aggravated felony. The judge might cancel your removal. Its discretionary.
For non-permanent residents: You need to have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 10 years continuously, have good moral character, and show that your removal would cause “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” to your U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or child. This is a very high standard. “My family will miss me” isn’t enough.
Asylum or Withholding of Removal: If you fear persecution in your home country based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, you might qualify for asylum.
Voluntary Departure: You agree to leave the U.S. at you’re own expense within 60-120 days. Benefit: No formal deportation order (easier to return legally someday). Catch: If you don’t actually leave within the deadline, you get a 10-year ban plus the deportation order.
When voluntary departure makes sense: You have no relief available, you can actually leave in the timeframe, and you want the option to return someday. When its a trap: You have U.S. citizen family, you own property or a buisness you can’t liquidate in 60 days, you have a pending criminal case.
Post-Conviction Relief: If your deportable because of a criminal conviction, and you’re attorney didn’t warn you about immigration consequences (violating Padilla), you might be able to get the conviction vacated. You file a motion in criminal court showing ineffective assistance of counsel. Success rate is low, but worth trying if your facing mandatory deportation.
What Happens After Your Criminal Case Resolves
Your criminal case just ended. Charges dismissed? Plea deal? Convicted? Acquitted?
The ICE hold doesn’t automatically go away. Your still in removal proceedings. But the criminal case outcome affects everything.
Charges dismissed or acquitted: Huge argument for bond and for relief. Immigration judges look more favorably on people with no convictions.
Convicted: Now it depends on what you were convicted of. Aggravated felony? Your probably in mandatory detention with no relief. Minor misdemeanor? Should be okay, but ICE might still try to deport you.
Time served and released from criminal custody: ICE will be waiting at the jail door. Literally. You walk out of the criminal jail directly into ICE custody.
After your criminal case wraps up, you’ll get a Notice to Appear if you haven’t already. This lists the reasons ICE thinks your removable. Your first court date will be a master calendar hearing. Then you wait. Immigration courts are backlogged. Your individual hearing might be scheduled 2-4 years out. If you’re detained, your case moves faster (6 months to a year usually).
Protecting Everything Else While You Fight
While your dealing with these cases, the rest of you’re life is collapsing.
30 days detained: You’ve probably lost your job. 60 days: Behind on rent. Eviction proceedings might of started. Your car payment is overdue. 90 days: Eviction is final. Car repossessed. Kids staying with relatives. Everything you built is gone.
Emergency planning in the first 72 hours: Someone needs to contact your employer. Pay your rent, even partial payment. If you have kids, temporary custody arrangements now. Someone needs access to your bank accounts and bills. Set up power of attorney, or give account passwords to someone you trust.
Most people don’t have this support system. So everything falls apart. Even if you win your immigration case after 90 days, you’re job is gone, apartment is gone, car is gone.
How to Avoid Getting Detained by ICE
If you get released, or if you’re reading this to prepare:
If ICE comes to your home: Don’t open the door. Seriously. ICE can’t come into your home unless they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge. An administrative warrant signed by an ICE officer is not enough.
Ask them to slide the warrant under the door. Look for a judge’s signature. If its just an ICE officer’s signature, say “I do not consent to your entry” and don’t open the door.
If ICE confronts you in public: Stay calm. Do not run. Ask “Am I free to leave?” If they say yes, walk away calmly. If they say no, you’re being detained.
You have the right to remain silent. Say “I want to speak to my attorney” and “I am exercising my right to remain silent.” Then stay silent. Don’t answer questions about where you were born, how you entered the country, your immigration status.
Do not lie. Do not claim to be a U.S. citizen if your not. But you don’t have to answer there questions.
What to Do Right Now
If you’re currently in jail with an ICE hold:
1. Request to speak with a lawyer immediatly.
2. Do NOT take any plea deal without immigration attorney review.
3. Have your family start collecting evidence for bond hearing.
4. Document when your 48-hour window expires.
5. Do NOT talk to ICE without an attorney. Remain silent.
If your family member is detained:
1. Locate them using the ICE detainee locator.
2. Start collecting evidence immediatly.
3. Find an immigration attorney for consultation.
4. Handle there outside obligations (job, rent, kids, bills).
If you’re out on bond:
1. Attend every court date and ICE check-in.
2. Work with your attorney to prepare you’re relief application.
3. Stay out of legal trouble.
The time to act is now. Not tommorow. Every hour matters.