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How To Handle An Indefinite Hold For A Traffic Ticketby Peter Reed HillHypothetical: An individual who entered without inspection was detained and kept in the local jail on an immigration hold. His bond in the county court is less than $300, but the county will not release him until ICE comes to interview the individual, with no timeframe provided by ICE. The individual has ties to the community, and possesses no immigration and no criminal record. How does one obtain a bond or release in this situation? When you file them these petitions always result in movement in the case, if not outright release. I have also written an article for the benefit of my state's criminal defense bar, and several criminal lawyers have thanked me for their help with their clients stranded in "Free Food Heaven." The remedy you use to stop this abuse of civil liberty is to file a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus against the jailer in the appropriate state court in your state which has jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions. ICE is not a party! You get a hearing within a statutory amount of time which is probably not very long in most jurisdictions. Attach as an Exhibit a copy of the relevant portion of 8 C.F.R. Section 287.7 which sets forth the time limits for ICE detainers. Before you draft your petition, I highly recommend that you take a half hour or so to read the habeas corpus statute in your state, and also to determine the process, and service of process provisions which apply to habeas corpus petitions. Remember, you need to get the civil procedure basics right because there is no defense to one of these petitions on the merits of the case. The only defense available to the District Attorney's office who usually defends these matters, is based upon errors in civil procedure in filing, service, naming proper parties, serving proper parties, etc. In short, the detainer in your case becomes a worthless piece of paper once 48 hours, or the "weekend rule" has passed since the detaining State (or jurisdiction) is criminally no longer interested in your client. There is potentially one more necessary step before you file the habeas in a state court of competent jurisdiction. You must pay the traffic ticket, or post a bond in a pending criminal case. Otherwise, your client is still being held pursuant to the criminal proceedings in the local jurisdiction and the habeas will fail.
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