How Do People Get In Trouble With Immigration?

How Do People Get In Trouble With Immigration?

The branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that deports people is called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  After years of defending people in Immigration Court, I have seen a pattern of how ICE locates people for deportation.  This article will give you an idea of how ICE finds you if it believes you have violated the immigration law.  It is not meant to help you break the law, but instead, to help you come into compliance with the immigration law, i.e., become legal, before it’s too late.

Working with a fake green card.

If you are working with fake documents or a fake social security number, there is a chance that ICE will find you either through its review of your employer’s records or through a workplace raid.  Raids of companies with reputations for employing illegal aliens has become common place.  If you are working at a company that employs many illegal aliens, there is a good chance that ICE will conduct a raid or investigation of your workplace and find you.  Once ICE determines that you are in the country without proper documentation, it will initiate removal or deportation proceedings.

Serving your criminal sentence.

If you are serving your time for a criminal conviction, ICE may place a hold on you to prevent your release.  People often don’t realize that ICE is seeking their deportation until it comes time for them to be released from jail for their criminal conviction, only to learn that ICE has placed an immigration hold on them.  When this happens, it means that ICE has initiated deportation proceedings and you will have to remain in jail until an immigration bond is available, and/or, your immigration case is resolved in immigration court.

Admitting to violating the Immigration law during an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Many people who are seeking an immigration benefit, like a marriage based green card or citizenship through naturalization, must undergo an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  They file their immigration forms and wait for the interview.  During the interview, USCIS asks a number of questions to see whether you have violated the immigration law in the past.  If your answers indicate that you have previously violated the immigration law, not only may USCIS deny your application, it will turn you over to ICE for removal and deportation proceedings.  Common examples of admissions made during interviews that can lead to deportation proceedings include false claims to U.S. citizenship, working with fake documents, and previous unlawful entries into the U.S.

Being caught at or near the border.

A very common scenario in which ICE learns of a person’s unlawful presence in the U.S. is when they catch someone trying to cross the border without documentation.  In other instances, local police may stop you for a nonimmigration related matter and learn that you do not have proper immigration documentation.  The police may then call ICE.   

Traveling outside the country.

Yes, you read it correctly; sometimes traveling outside of the U.S. can trigger grounds of inadmissibility such that you are prevented from returning and result in deportation proceedings.  The immigration laws regarding the grounds on which ICE may deport someone who is already in the U.S. and the grounds on which ICE may deny someone entry into the U.S. are slightly different.  This means that you may have something on your record, like a criminal conviction, they would not be grounds for deportation from within the United States, but once you leave and try to return, that same conviction could be grounds to deny you entry.  Anyone with a criminal history should consult with an immigration attorney before travelling outside the U.S.

The above scenarios are some of the most common ways that ICE finds people whom they think should be deported.  One may use this information to identify possible triggers that could get him in trouble with immigration and if faced with such a situation, seek to remedy his immigration situation before it is too late by contacting a U.S. immigration lawyer.

Read more about U.S. immigration law, green cards, deportation, family sponsorship, and work visas at www.ImmigrationLawyerMN.com , or call, (952) 746-4111.

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Vincent P. Martin heads the Immigration Practice Group at Cundy and Martin, LLC. Vincent represents employers, business personnel, investors, families seeking to sponsor other family members, students, asylees, and those facing deportation with all areas of immigration law. Vincent has helped countless clients with work visas, family visas, and deportation defense. Cundy and Martin also focuses on divorce and business defense llaw.