Immigration Bonds Related to Criminal Convictions Part 2

What you will see now more of more of these and in the last five years — It is a part of post 9/11, the department of Homeland Security, emerge computers, with immigration in customs enforcements and customs and board patrol. So as result, people who are residents, have their green card. For years they have been going back and forth twice a year to go to see grandma and cousins and other family members across the border. No problems — but they have been convicted before of an offense made them deportable and I had a case just like the personal possession control substance of cocaine back in the mid 90’s. The slash hippie goes to Mexico for Christmas — comes back. It all pops up because now they run your green card through like a credit card and boom! The whole history shows up and now he’s placed in deportation proceeding in as arriving alien. And there’s a removal proceeding for convictions. Now, number one: an arriving alien, someone who left is coming in — does not have right to a bond. Okay? So my client because it occurred before 96 before the mandatory detention provisions kicked in. Who would have been eligible for a bond. If you had been picked up here in United States for that offense but because he was picked up as an arriving alien, he’s not eligible for a bond. But he’s eligible for a relief — cancellation or removal based on time had before the aggravated felony. So go in full circle with your question, when I have that I immediately filed a motion for a bond re-determination and we got to Antonio — And I go with my application in for relief for cancellation and removal and the judge says –Mr. Bo well he’s not eligible for bond judge, I don’t want him to sit here and wait, we’re ready to plead, we brought him into a trial and here’s our application, we just want to cut to the chase. So in that situation should do that now and in your situation?

That’s the situation. He’s being detained as an arriving alien and frankly [inaudible] in federal court. You know they are holding him for absolutely nothing. And he doesn’t have a base, and he has a green card, has every right to come into the United States. You go into Federal court and they are all heinous. But in the other situations when you have a detained client, who is subject to removal for an offence or something and they have not brought it – you file a motion for the bond hearing. Not so much because you expect to get the bond but just to be get him for an immigration judge and cut to cut a chase and get a trial date for his relief. Okay? I am glad you raised that because one of the thing I wanted to talk about is TS and new visas.

These are visas that are available, the TV says for the victims of traffic and violence, new visas are for battered women and the S visas is the material, a material witness visa. And the S visas are the situations where you may have a lot of clients. Where you got a situation, where it’s a conspiracy and your guys low man on the totem pole. And he doesn’t have papers and S visas do not have papers. And your client is the low man on the totem pole and the feds are not interested in the little fish they want the big fish but your client’s been indicted in that part of that conspiracy, If your client is willing to cooperate with the feds, with the Government and be a witness. At that point you can get a visa for him, an ‘S’ visa which will give him work permit, a driver’s license and social security card and at least as long that’s going on — as the trial and everything is going on, status: illegal status in the United States. Now in some cases that can expire when the game’s over he will had more than he have and this cases can drag on, years and years. But that ‘S’ visa is available and I’m — when you have clients and in this situation – the ‘S’ visa must be applied for federal law enforcement agencies, your client cannot on his own apply for it.