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immigration bond hearing attorney

Your husband has been inside Joe Corley Detention Facility for six days, and no one has told you when — or whether — a judge will let him out. His calls from inside last about six minutes before the line cuts off, and in one of them he mentioned that rent is due Friday and his employer can only hold his job open for two more weeks. What you need right now is someone who can file the paperwork today and stand in front of the Houston Immigration Court judge before another week disappears.

An immigration bond hearing attorney files a custody redetermination request under INA § 236(a) (8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)) asking a judge to set or lower bond, then presents evidence of community ties and lack of danger under the Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006) factors so a detained family member can be released while the case proceeds.

The Hard Truth

Not every detained person is eligible for bond, and no attorney can promise a number before a judge hears the case. If ICE classifies someone under mandatory detention provisions in INA § 236(c) (8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)) — generally tied to certain criminal grounds — a standard bond hearing isn't available at all, and the only route is a Joseph hearing challenging whether that classification was correctly applied, under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(h)(2)(ii) and Matter of Joseph, 22 I&N Dec. 799 (BIA 1999). Even in discretionary cases under INA § 236(a), the statutory floor is $1,500 under INA § 236(a)(2)(A) (8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)(2)(A)), but Houston Immigration Court judges routinely set bond well above that when they weigh flight risk or perceived danger under Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006). Some families get a number they can't raise, and a bond attorney owes you honesty about that possibility upfront.

What Happens If You Wait

The Houston Immigration Court won't calendar a bond hearing until Form EOIR-28 and a written custody redetermination request have been filed and served on ICE's Office of Principal Legal Advisor, per EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, Chapter 9. Every day that filing sits undone is a day your family member stays at Joe Corley or gets moved further away — transfers to Port Isabel Detention Center and the Harlingen Immigration Court docket happen without warning, and once that happens your case is being heard three hours south with a different judge and a different calendar. Miss the window to request a bond redetermination, and you may have to wait for a changed-circumstances showing before the court will hear the issue again. Meanwhile the underlying removal case keeps moving whether or not the person is out to help prepare it, and a missed check-in or missed hearing date while detained can be read against them later.

Step-by-Step Process

  1. Confirm where your family member is being held — Montgomery County Jail intake frequently holds people before transfer to Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe; ICE's online detainee locator or a call to the ERO Houston Field Office will confirm current custody location.
  2. Identify the detention category: discretionary under INA § 236(a) or mandatory under INA § 236(c). This determines whether a standard bond hearing is available or whether a Joseph hearing under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(h)(2)(ii) is needed first to contest the classification.
  3. File Form EOIR-28 and a written custody redetermination request with the Houston Immigration Court at 126 Northpoint Drive, and serve ICE's Office of Principal Legal Advisor — required before the court will calendar a hearing, per EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, Chapter 9.
  4. Assemble the evidentiary record addressing the Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006) factors: length of residence, family ties, employment history, property or lease documentation, criminal history (or lack of it), and any indicators of danger or flight risk.
  5. Attend the hearing — at Houston Immigration Court, or at the Harlingen Immigration Court docket if the person has been transferred to Port Isabel Detention Center.
  6. If bond is granted, arrange payment. Family members can pool funds, and the bond is refundable once the case concludes and all hearings and conditions are met, minus any required fees — payment is processed through the ICE ERO office with custody of the detainee.
  7. If bond is denied or set at an unaffordable amount, file a notice of appeal to the BIA within 30 days under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b), or file a renewed motion if circumstances change.

A Real-World Example

Consider a composite that reflects how these cases typically unfold. A man is picked up and held overnight at the Montgomery County Jail intake unit before being transferred to Joe Corley. His wife calls that afternoon. The attorney's first task is confirming his location and pulling his record to determine whether his prior DUI triggers a mandatory detention category under INA § 236(c) or leaves him eligible for a standard INA § 236(a) hearing. It turns out he qualifies for a regular bond hearing, so Form EOIR-28 and the written custody redetermination request go to the Houston Immigration Court and get served on the ICE Office of Principal Legal Advisor the same week, as Chapter 9 of the Practice Manual requires. Over the next several days the family gathers a letter from his employer, the lease showing three years at the same address, and school enrollment records for his children — the kind of documentation that speaks to the Matter of Guerra factors. At the hearing, the OPLA attorney raises the DUI as a danger concern; the defense attorney addresses it with the completed treatment program records and the absence of any other arrests. The judge takes the Guerra factors into account and issues a bond decision from the bench. Whatever the amount, the family then has to decide how to raise it within the time the court allows, and the attorney explains the payment process and what happens at the next master calendar hearing if release occurs — or the appeal timeline if it doesn't.

William J. Vasquez is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and personally appears before the Houston Immigration Court on detained custody redetermination matters, including Joseph hearings contesting mandatory detention classifications. His detained docket includes filing and arguing bond motions under INA § 236(a), building the evidentiary record required under Matter of Guerra, and handling BIA appeals when a judge denies bond or sets an amount a family can't meet. He appears in person for these hearings and has argued custody matters before the judges currently sitting at 126 Northpoint Drive.

Key Terms Explained

INA § 236(a) (8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)) — the statute governing bond eligibility for detained noncitizens who are not subject to mandatory detention; sets a $1,500 statutory minimum bond under § 236(a)(2)(A).

INA § 236(c) (8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)) — the mandatory detention provision that removes bond eligibility for certain criminal grounds, absent a successful Joseph hearing.

Custody redetermination hearing — the formal hearing before an immigration judge where bond is set, lowered, or denied.

Form EOIR-28 — the Notice of Entry of Appearance an attorney files with the immigration court to represent a detained person.

Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006) — the BIA decision listing the factors judges weigh to assess flight risk and danger to the community when setting bond.

Joseph hearing — a hearing under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(h)(2)(ii), based on Matter of Joseph, 22 I&N Dec. 799 (BIA 1999), used to challenge whether ICE correctly classified someone as subject to mandatory detention.

OPLA — ICE's Office of Principal Legal Advisor, the attorneys who represent the government in Immigration Court proceedings, including bond hearings.

BIA — the Board of Immigration Appeals, the administrative body that reviews immigration judge decisions, including bond denials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I get an immigration bond lowered after a judge has already set it? A: Only if you can show a material change in circumstances since the first hearing — new evidence of community ties, a new sponsor, or resolution of a pending charge. The Houston Immigration Court generally won't rehear the same bond request without that showing, per EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, Chapter 9.

Q: ICE says there's no bond because of mandatory detention. Is there any way out? A: The main option is a Joseph hearing under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(h)(2)(ii), which challenges whether ICE correctly classified the person as subject to mandatory detention under INA § 236(c) in the first place. If that classification is successfully contested, a standard bond hearing becomes available.

Q: How much is an immigration bond for a DUI charge in Texas? A: There's no fixed amount. The statutory floor is $1,500 under INA § 236(a)(2)(A), but a DUI arrest often leads a Houston Immigration Court judge to set a higher amount because it factors into the danger-to-the-community analysis under Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006).

Q: Can family members pool money to pay a bond, and do they get it back? A: Yes. Anyone with lawful immigration status (or a business with an EIN) can post the bond, and it is refundable once the case concludes and all hearing appearances and conditions are met. The bond must be paid in full to the ICE ERO office with custody of the detainee.

Q: Is the online ICE bond payment portal legitimate, or is it a scam? A: ICE does operate an official payment system, but confirm you are on an official ice.gov domain before entering any payment information, and be wary of third parties — including notarios — who charge a fee to "process" a bond; a notario is not a licensed attorney and has no authority to represent anyone in immigration proceedings.

Q: My family member was transferred to another detention center. Who do I call? A: Use ICE's online detainee locator to confirm the new location, and notify your attorney immediately — a transfer, such as from Joe Corley to Port Isabel Detention Center, can shift the case to the Harlingen Immigration Court docket and change which judge hears the bond request.

Q: How fast can a bond hearing be scheduled after an ICE arrest? A: It depends on how quickly Form EOIR-28 and the written custody redetermination request are filed and served on ICE's Office of Principal Legal Advisor, as required under EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, Chapter 9. Prompt filing can get a hearing calendared within one to three weeks; a transfer to another facility can add delay.

Families who have worked with our immigration team describe an attorney who picks up the phone during an active detention crisis and walks through exactly what happens next. Reviews consistently mention direct communication throughout the bond process and an attorney who shows up in person at the Houston Immigration Court for hearings.

Every day a bond request sits unfiled is a day the person you're trying to bring home stays exactly where they are. If you're not sure whether your situation calls for a standard custody redetermination hearing or a Joseph hearing to contest a mandatory detention classification, that's the first thing to sort out, and it needs to happen before anything else moves forward.

Call our office to schedule a consultation with our immigration practice about your family member's custody status. Bring the detainee's A-number, the facility name and location, and any paperwork ICE has already issued — we'll tell you on that call whether a standard bond motion or a Joseph hearing fits your situation, and what filing with the Houston Immigration Court looks like from here.