No matter how good your lawyer is, you might not be released from the detention center if you are considered a flight risk or if you have been charged with various offenses.
Arizona is one of the states with a high number of foreign-born residents. According to a 2018 report, foreign born individuals accounted for 13% of the population, while an additional 16% of the population was comprised of American-born individuals with at least one immigrant parent. Given these numbers, it is obvious that a large number of immigrants arrive every year in Arizona to be with their families. Many of them find themselves in trouble, though, and face deportation if they don’t get their papers in order.
Being arrested by the ICE is a scary experience and if you want to avoid being sent back to your country of origin you need to contact experienced Arizona immigration lawyers. Time is of the essence in such a situation. Your fate will be decided at a hearing which will be set in 30-60 days. You don’t have much time to prepare your defense so you need to get a reliable Phoenix immigration lawyer working on your case immediately.
When you find yourself in one of the ICE detention centers in Arizona, you have one chance of getting out and that’s obtaining a bond hearing. Reach out to a lawyer right away and have them request a bond hearing for you. If you are granted a bond, you will be released and allowed to prepare for your immigration trial on the outside. No matter how good your lawyer is, you might not be released from the detention center if you are considered a flight risk or if you have been charged with various offenses, based on which you might be considered a public threat.
Whether or not you get released for the moment, you should focus all your energies on the pending immigration hearing. Your immigration lawyer will review your file and decide on the best strategy for the trial. You have basically three options to fight against deportation.
Adjustment of status
To demand an adjustment of status you need to prove that you entered the US legally. You can do this by showing that you had a visa or, and this is very important, that you were a passenger in a vehicle and a border officer allowed you into the country. As Arizona is a border state such situations are rather common. Another condition for obtaining an adjustment of status is for a family member who is an American citizen or legal resident to file a request for you.
Cancellation of removal
Your lawyer will suggest this type of defense for your upcoming trial if you’ve lived in the US for more than 10 years. In order to qualify for cancellation of removal, you need to prove you have a good moral character, which means you must not have a criminal record. As in the previous situation, you’ll need a relative who is a legal resident in the US to vouch for you. Alternatively, your lawyer will need to convincingly prove that your deportation would cause unusual hardship on your immediate family members in the US.
Asylum
If you’ve been in the US for more than one year you can claim asylum if you can prove you were persecuted in your country of origin based on your race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership in certain social groups.
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