Uribe & Uribe APLC

Immigration Holds 

A common issue that arises when a non-citizen or immigrant is arrested is the issue of an immigration hold. An immigration hold or detainer is a notice that Department of Homeland Security issues to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to inform the law enforcement agency that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement known as ICE intends to assume custody of the arrested individual. Uribe & Uribe APLC has experience representing immigrants that have been arrested and are facing criminal charges in Superior Court as well as Immigration proceedings as a result of the criminal arrest.

Bail and Immigration Holds

If you have an Immigration Hold then you cannot post bail with Superior Court.  The best alternative to be released from custody is to resolve the criminal court matter that got you place in an immigration hold to begin with and then to seek release from the ICE hold through the Immigration Officer that processes you once you are turned over to federal authorities. Once you are in federal custody an ICE agent will determine if you can be released with an ankle monitoring bracelet called ISAP or be sent directly to an Immigration Judge.  Once you are released on ISAP you will be able to be free from custody and able to fight your immigration case while released on ISAP.  If you are denied release on ISAP, then you will have to argue your case for release on bail to an Immigration Judge. In this scenario an Immigration Judge will determine if you are able to be released on an Immigration Bail Bond.

Immigrants Accused of Crimes in California Criminal Court

An immigration hold allows ICE and Immigration Services to assume custody of the arrested individual and requests information from the law enforcement agency about preventing the individual's release so Immigration may assume custody of the detained client and to request that the law enforcement agency maintain custody of the client who would otherwise be released for a period not to exceed 48 hours not including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays to provide ICE time to assume custody.

ICE justifies holding arrestees so that they can identify and ultimately remove them from the country.  If the arresting law enforcement agency needs the arrested individual to remain in custody to answer for allegations, then the immigration hold will remain until the country criminal court system completes its process. If the prosecutor brings charges against the individual the arrested defendant will have to fight the allegations while in custody and will not be allowed bail.  Once the prosecution for the county criminal court process is completed then the defendant will be sent to immigration custody no matter if he or she won in criminal court.

An immigration hold will cause the law enforcement agency to hold you until immigration officials can place the defendant in immigration custody. Once the criminal court process is adjudicated immigration authorities will take you to an immigration detention center and either release you on an immigration bond, place in the ISAP program (release with electronic monitoring), remove you to your home country, or refer your case to an immigration judge. Because this process can happen relatively quickly it is important to retain legal counsel that can navigate both the criminal court process as well as the civil immigration removal process.

Avoiding an Immigration Hold or ICE Hold

The short answer is that an immigration hold cannot be avoided if a person is undocumented. But there are bits of advice that clients can follow when faced with the possibility of having a hold placed on him or her.

An immigration hold will cause the law enforcement agency to hold you until immigration officials can place the defendant in immigration custody. Once the criminal court process is adjudicated immigration authorities will take you to an immigration detention center and either release you on an immigration bond, place in the ISAP program (release with electronic monitoring), remove you to your home country, or refer your case to an immigration judge. Because this process can happen relatively quickly it is important to retain legal counsel that can navigate both the criminal court process as well as the civil immigration removal process.



If you are arrested and are not a citizen of the United States, then it is important to post bail as soon as possible.  Experience shows that once an individual is processed in the Los Angeles County Jail system, then it is more likely that an Immigration Hold will take effect. It is recommended that once an immigrant or non-citizen is arrested that he or she posts bail with a local bail company that will bail them out as soon as possible before an ICE Immigration hold is placed on the defendant. Usually this means that someone that is arrested should post bail as soon as they arrive at the local law enforcement agency. Once a person is arrested they are typically given a bail amount and they provided with information of various bail companies at the local law enforcement station. It is usually a couple of days until a defendant is taken to a county jail to be processed. Once a defendant is taken to a county jail to be processed then it is more likely that an ICE Immigration hold will be placed on him or her.