Immigrants & Immigration

It is a decision by an immigration judge (IJ) that a non-citizen, called the “respondent”, A person who has a petition filed against them must be deported from the US. It becomes a final order if the respondent does not file an appeal A request to change a court's decision of the decision, or they filed an appeal and the appeal was denied. An IJ can also issue a final order of removal if a person did not show up to their immigration court hearing. When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer This is called an order “in absentia.” Once an order becomes a final order, the deportation process can begin. Deportation is the process of being removed from the US by the government.

Non-detained people: Once a removal order is issued, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will decide when they want to start the deportation process. ICE will tell the respondent A person who has a petition filed against them that they must report to ICE on a particular date and time to be taken into ICE custody. If a non-citizen appeared in Chicago Immigration Court, they will likely be required to go to the ICE Chicago field office. Since there are no detention centers in Illinois, a person will likely be brought to an ICE processing center first. Then they will be transferred to a detention center outside of Illinois. ICE can hold a person in detention for up to 90 days. This period is called the “removal period.”

The respondent can decide to appeal A request to change a court's decision the decision of the IJ. They must tell the judge right after their decision that they want to appeal. Appeals must be filed within 30 days of the IJ's decision. If they file an appeal, their deportation may be paused. The respondent might also be able to apply to stop deportation while the appeal is pending.

Detained Includes juveniles held prior to a court makes a decision about their case,  awaiting transfer to adult criminal court, or awaiting a hearing or trial in adult criminal court. people: If a respondent who is detained is ordered removed by an IJ, they will be removed without being released from the detention facility. Sometimes, this can happen as quickly as one or two weeks after the judge issues the removal order. Family members will need to contact the detention facility for specific instructions on how to send money, documents or other items to their loved one prior to their removal.

The person is considered an ICE fugitive. Not going to ICE when a person was supposed to is considered avoiding law enforcement. ICE may send out a special team to find people they consider fugitives, arrest them, and deport them quickly.

It depends on several factors. ICE must gather documents to get the country’s approval for the deportation to take place. A person’s home country must confirm they will accept someone back if they are deported. People from some countries, like Mexico, are often deported very quickly. They can be deported within a week or two of the final removal order. On the other hand, ICE may never be able to deport persons from some countries. This could be because those countries refuse to accept deported people from the US.

A person can speed up the process of deportation by providing ICE with certain documents. This includes a copy of their passport, A document that lets a person travel outside the country birth certificate, A legal document with a person's place of birth, time of birth, and parents or any identification card issued by their home country. Someone might wish to do this because they would rather be deported than stay in ICE detention. They can bring these items with them when they report to ICE. If the person is already in detention, copies can be mailed to the ICE field office where a person is located.

If ICE cannot deport someone within 90 days after the date of a final removal order, the person can be considered for supervised release. After the 90-day removal period, the person will get a notice of a “post-order custody review” (POCR). This notice will ask them to provide certain information to ICE. A person must provide evidence Anything used to show that something is true that shows they are not a flight risk, they have a stable place to live, and are not a danger to the community. They can submit information about family members with ties to the US, and letters of support from community members, employers, or friends. If ICE lets the person leave detention, they will likely be put on an electronic monitoring system, like an ankle bracelet. ICE will continue planning their deportation while they are on supervised release. If ICE denies releasing the person from detention, they will have another POCR after 90 more days.

A person can file a habeas corpus petition in federal court, if they believe they are being unlawfully detained. Includes juveniles held prior to a court makes a decision about their case,  awaiting transfer to adult criminal court, or awaiting a hearing or trial in adult criminal court. Generally, habeas petitions are more successful if a person has been in detention for at least six months. The habeas corpus petition challenges immigration detention. It will not stop someone from being deported.

Yes. At the final hearing, When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer after the immigration judge decides to give the respondent A person who has a petition filed against them a final removal order, they will ask if the respondent wants to appeal the decision. The respondent must say yes to be eligible to appeal. Appeals must be filed with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which is a court in Virginia.

Until March 8, 2026, an appeal must be filed within 30 days after the immigration judge’s decision. 

Starting March 9, 2026, BIA appeals must be filed within 10 days after the immigration judge's decision for most cases. This applies for all immigration court decisions, except for some asylum cases. The following types of cases have 10 days to file their appeal to the BIA:

• Asylum denials because of a one-year filing deadline bar,
• Asylum denials due to a safe third country or asylum cooperative agreement,
• Asylum was denied because the respondent was denied asylum previously,
• The case involves Withholding When an employer keeps some of a person's paycheck to cover their taxes of removal relief only, and
• The case involves Convention against Torture (CAT) only proceedings.

The Florence Project provides information about filing an appeal to the BIA. If a person’s immigration court case is in Chicago, they must send a copy of their appeal to the Chicago ICE Office. It is best to have a lawyer to help figure out if there is a way to appeal the decision and to file the appeal.