Detention
It seems like Immigration is VERY active right now, picking up people with criminal charges at local jails, in court houses, at check-ins with ICE.
It is a good time to remind your teenagers, your friends and relatives about the simple steps to take, if ever apprehended by a police officer or ICE officer. Three things: Ask to see the Judge; Ask to call a legal family member; and Ask for a Bond.
It is important for someone who is detained by Immigration to ask for a Bond to get out of custody, but also to be prepared to submit documentation to the Judge for the Bond.
Every week at Detained Hearings, the Immigration Judges are asked by people (who are sitting in jail) for a bond. The person has not prepared a Bond “packet” for the Judge, to help prove that he or she is not a Flight Risk, or a Danger to the Community. Those things are critical issues in a bond hearing.
If the detained person does not get that evidence in front of the Judge before asking for a bond, the bond will be denied or set extraordinarily high, so that the family cannot afford to pay it.
Realistically, a person who is apprehended and held by ICE in a County jail may be sitting there for weeks before being able to present a bond request. Families need an emergency plan and an emergency fund to help pay the bond as quickly as possible. For most people, if the bond is paid, the money will be returned eventually, to the person who has paid the bond to ICE.
As you enjoy the holidays with your family around you, please remember those who are not so fortunate — the moms and dads, and family members who are sitting in our county jails, waiting on the slow wheels of immigration justice to turn.
The Advocates for Immigrant Rights & Reconciliation (AIRR) is having a training on January 19, 2019 to teach people how to walk with immigrants in a variety of ways. We will train people how to help with posting a bond, picking up people from jails when they have been released, accompanying to Court or Asylum Interviews.
We need trained volunteers, and if you are interested, please consider signing up for this free training by contacting info@airrkc.org. Check out the event on the AIRRKC Facebook page and hope to see you there.
