Removal and Deportation Defense Lawyer Elmhurst

Removal and Deportation Defense Lawyer Elmhurst

When U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents come knocking or if a loved one has already been taken into ICE custody in Elmhurst, you can count on our experienced Elmhurst removal and deportation defense lawyers at Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, PC to do everything we can to stop the removal or deportation.

Being taken into custody is not the only way one knows they have been placed in removal or deportation proceedings. If you are in the United States without valid immigration status and ICE or the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) becomes aware of this, you may receive a “Notice of Hearing” in the mail. This is a formal notice which provides you with the date, time, and location of a hearing that has been scheduled for an Immigration Judge to decide whether you should be deported. 

Notice of Hearing and Notice to Appear

If you have received a Notice of Hearing, you must do everything possible to attend your hearing date because if you fail to do so, an Immigration Judge will issue an Order of Deportation against you. This means once that order is entered, you can be picked up and deported without any further hearing or action in your case.

When you receive your Notice of Hearing, you will also receive a “Notice to Appear (NTA),” which is a document that states the reasons why the immigration office wants you to be deported. If the NTA does not arrive alongside your Notice of Hearing, you will be given one at your first hearing before an Immigration Judge.

Obtaining Immigration Defense Counsel

Unlike a criminal court proceeding, where the court is required to appoint a lawyer to represent a defendant if they cannot afford one, the government is not required to provide those who are fighting deportation in immigration court. Rather, it is up to the person who has been placed in deportation proceedings and their family to find an immigration attorney who can aggressively advocate against the deportation.

It is imperative that you or your family contact an immigration attorney immediately upon being detained or immediately upon receiving the Notice of Hearing. This is because time is of the essence. For example, the clock for filing certain forms of relief from deportation such as asylum protection is running, and if you delay in contacting an immigration lawyer, you may run out of that time, and this becomes a big problem that may contribute to your asylum application being denied.

Speak with Our Elmhurst Removal and Deportation Defense Lawyers Today

At Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, PC, we can not only make sure all applications that need to be filed and timely filed, but we will also mount an aggressive defense for you or your loved one. Common defenses against deportation/removal include:

• Prosecutorial Discretion
• Challenging the charges on the Notice to Appear
• DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
• Adjustment of Status
• Cancellation of Removal – available to certain lawful permanent residents, certain persons without status, and certain persons who were victims of abuse
• Asylum, Convention against Torture, Withholding of Removal
• Waivers for persons with prior immigration violations or criminal convictions 
• Voluntary Departure

If you or a loved one is in removal or deportation proceedings, contact us today and request a consultation as to what your options are.