Immigrants & Immigration

If you have been charged with or convicted of a crime, are in jail or prison, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) believes you are removable, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may place a detainer on you. The detainer tells state prison officials to notify DHS if they are going to release you. Once a detainer is placed on you, you will not be able to get out of jail on bond. Instead, ICE officers will take custody of you from the jail or prison. 

If you have been sentenced to boot camp and you have an immigration detainer, you will probably not be able to serve Giving court documents to someone the boot camp sentence. You might be put in jail instead.

Help for noncitizens facing deportation in Cook County

The Cook County Public Defender's Immigration Division helps noncitizens in Cook County with deportation cases.

• Non-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. : You may qualify for free legal help if you or a loved one has a case in Chicago Immigration Court and has been represented by the Cook County Public Defender in another case.
• Detained: Free legal help is available for noncitizens in ICE custody who have ties to Cook County and a case in Chicago Immigration Court.

To get help, email [email protected] or call 312-603-0636 on Wednesdays between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Once DHS begins the removal case, it will serve Giving court documents to someone you with a Notice to Appear (NTA). The NTA should list the immigration charges against you. It will also state the facts that back up the charges. DHS can serve the NTA to you by mail or give it to you in person. The NTA should have the date, time, and place of your first hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer . If your NTA does not, the court will mail you a notice with this information.

If you are 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. , your case will most likely be done by video conference. This means that you will not appear in person in front of a judge. Instead, you will be taken to a room in your detention center where you will watch the judge and lawyers on a television. They will watch you on a television in the courtroom.

In removal cases, there are two types of hearings. The first kind of hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer is a master calendar hearing. The judge will ask you whether you admit or deny To refuse or say no the charges against you, and whether you will try to fight the deportation. You have a right to ask for a continuance When the judge gives additional preparation time before or during a trial  or a delay at the hearing. This could give you time to try to get a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice . You may have several master calendar hearings before presenting your full case. 

The second kind of hearing is the individual calendar or merits hearing. At this hearing, you and your lawyer give the reasons why you cannot or should not be deported.

If you fail to attend your hearing, you may receive an In Absentia Order of Removal. This is an order deporting, or removing you. It is difficult to remove this order once it is in place, so it is important to be present for your hearings.

Possible outcomes of the hearing

Cancellation of removal

Cancellation of removal is available to certain individuals in removal proceedings that began on or after April 1, 1997. To qualify, you must show extreme hardship to a spouse, child, or parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. You must also show good moral character and meet certain time requirements for living in the U.S. 

This is available to green card holders and to people without green cards. It is difficult to get cancellation of removal, and only 4,000 people can get it each year. You should speak to a lawyer about applying. 

Voluntary departure

A voluntary departure means that you are leaving the United States on your own. You can ask the judge for this during your case before your final hearing. You cannot get voluntary departure if you have been convicted of an aggravated felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison . 

If the judge gives you voluntary departure, it will make it easier for you to legally come back. This is because you will not have been ordered to be deported. 

The judge will give you up to 120 days for you to prepare your departure from the United States. You must make the arrangements at your own cost and confirm to the government that you returned to your country. 

If you accept voluntary departure from a judge, but then fail to leave before the judge’s deadline, the voluntary departure order automatically becomes a removal, or deportation order. You can be arrested and deported at any time without further notice or proceedings if that happens.

Grant of relief

The immigration judge may grant you your defense against your removal from the US.  If the immigration judge grants you relief, then DHS can waive To give up a legal right or pardon a fee their right to appeal A request to change a court's decision . They can also reserve their right to appeal the judge’s grant of relief.  

If DHS waives their right to appeal, then the immigration judge’s decision is final, and you have won your case.  If DHS reserves the right to appeal, then it has 30 days to file an appeal of the judge’s decision.  If DHS files the appeal, then you will need to continue fighting your case before the Board of Immigration Appeals.  If DHS does not file the appeal within 30 days, then the immigration judge’s decision is final and you have won your case. 

For more information on defenses during removal or deportation see The National Immigrant Justice Center’s Packet About Detention, Deportation, and Defenses Under U.S. Immigration Law.

Denial of relief

The immigration judge may deny your defense against your removal from the United States. If you lose your case in immigration court, you can reserve your right to appeal the judge’s decision. Or you can accept the judge’s decision and leave the United States.  

If you reserve your right to appeal, the notice of appeal must be filed with the Board of Immigration Appeals within 30 days of the immigration judge’s decision. It is very important to file your appeal on time or you may lose your opportunity to continue fighting your case. Appeals are difficult. It is important to get legal help if you are in removal proceedings.

For more information on the removal process see The National Immigrant Justice Center’s Packet About Detention, Deportation, and Defenses Under U.S. Immigration Law.

Fee waiver applications in removal proceedings or immigration appeals

When you apply for an immigration benefit, you might need to pay a fee. Check the forms to see how much the fee is and if it can be waived.

The Immigration Judge can waive a required application or motion A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something fee if you cannot pay it. However, not all forms are eligible for a fee waiver A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. , and the Judge will not grant a fee waiver for certain Department of Homeland Security (DHS) forms. 

Fee waivers are not automatic. A fee waiver request must include an executed affidavit A notarized written statement signed by a person under oath . Another option is to include an unsworn declaration. This must show that the filing party A person or business involved in a court case in a role like plaintiff, petitioner, defendant, respondent, or intervenor. cannot pay the fee. If you submit a filing without the required fee and the fee waiver request is denied, the filing might be considered defectively filed and be rejected or excluded from evidence Anything used to show that something is true . 

If you cannot afford to pay the filing fee Fee charged for filing court documents for appealing an immigration review or deportation (removal) proceeding, you can use form EOIR-26A to ask the immigration judge to waive it. To complete this form, you will need your USCIS number (also referred to as A-number, alien number, or alien registration number), and information about your income, property, and expenses.