DiMaria Gets Bail for Immigrants Facing Deportation

M any of my clients come to my office because their family members have been arrested for minor criminal offenses but then have an immigration hold. For example, client is driving while under the influence of alcohol and gets pulled over by the police. The police arrest client for DWI and the judge sets bail at $500. Client is living in the United States without documents so the police contact immigration to notify immigration authorities that the individual in their custody may be living in the United States illegally. ICE confirms that the individual is living in the United States illegally and therefore puts an “ICE hold” on the individual. Family member for client goes to pay the criminal bail and is told that they can not pay the bail because the client has an “ICE Hold”. Client’s family comes to the office and says that they tried to pay the bail but they can not because there is an immigration hold. In this situation, as with many other situations in which an individual is arrested for a criminal offense, it is very important for client and family to know that they MUST PAY THE BAIL EVEN IF THERE IS AN ICE HOLD. In these situations, an individual who is here undocumented, charged with a criminal offense, will have to pay 2 Bails, a criminal bail and an immigration bail. The only way for the individual who has an ICE hold to be released is to pay the criminal bail and then to pay the immigration bail. Once both bails are paid, the client will be released from custody and will be able to fight both the criminal and immigration case while out of jail. I would like potential clients to know that most of the time as long as they do not have a criminal conviction they will be eligible for bail. DiMaria has successfully obtained immigration bails for several of his clients who believed that they were not eligible for bail. DiMaria will work with each client in an effort to provide the court with as much documentation as possible establishing the individual has ties to the community, that the individual is not a danger to the community, and that the individual is not a flight risk. The more documentation the client has, the lower the bail will be.