Release on a Surety Bond

One of the most effective and efficient ways to release an alien from an immigration detention facility is through a bonding agent and the posting of a surety bond. This process requires that you provide a list of important information to the bonding agent.

This includes:

Name and A-number of the alien;
Location of the alien’s detention;
Address and phone of location where the alien will reside after release from detention;
Your contact information; and
A copy of the NTA served on the alien.

Once you have provided this information, the surety will discuss the collateral it will require to post the bond. Examples of collateral that may be required are cash, or a lien on real property. Once you have provided the required collateral, the surety will contact ICE to post the delivery bond and secure the alien’s release from detention.

There are two contracts involved in posting a surety bond. The first is the one you enter into with the surety company. As with all contracts, each party assumes certain obligations. You have agreed to (1) provide the required collateral, and (2) ensure that the alien complies with all surrender demands (Form I-340s) forwarded to you buy the surety company. The second contract is one between the surety company and ICE. This contract is the immigration bond. In return for the surety company’s promise to ensure compliance with all I-340s, ICE agrees to release the alien from custody. Under the terms of the bond, ICE may issue an I-340 demanding surrender at the time, date, and place indicated for (1) a hearing, (2) an interview, or (3) execution of a final order of removal. It is extremely unlikely that ICE will issue an I-340 for a hearing as it generally does not have that information. Over 95% of I-340s are for execution of a final order of removal.

This release does not change the fact that the alien is a defendant in a removal proceeding before an IJ to determine whether his/her presence in the United States is illegal. If the IJ determines that it is, he/she will issue an order of removal. IJs are employees of DOJ, not ICE. We discuss the importance of making sure that the immigration court has a correct address to which it can send hearing notices and other documents, and you seek a change of venue to ensure that hearings are in a court which is located near the address at which the alien will reside in a separate blog. Aliens in removal proceedings are entitled to be represented by an attorney, but because these proceedings are civil rather than criminal, they are not entitled to have one appointed for them. I.e., in order to secure representation for an alien in a removal proceeding, you must hire one. We recommend that you do so if at all possible if you intend to contest the charges in the NTA, as these proceedings can be complicated. E.g., an attorney will be familiar with the procedure for securing a change of venue, and with determining whether the alien has any defenses to the charges in the NTA.

The NTA served on the alien before his/her release will contain details of the time and place of the first step in a removal proceeding-a Master Calendar Hearing. Normally this Hearing will be scheduled at the immigration court near the place of detention. As discussed separately, you may want to seek to have this location changed to one nearer the address where the alien is to reside. Regardless of whether you do so, however, it is essential that the alien attend this hearing and all subsequent ones. Failure to do so is likely to result in an in absentia order of removal. Such an order makes an alien subject to deportation.

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Author: Doug Wood

Mr. Wood grew up in the Tidewater (Norfolk/Virginia Beach) area of Virginia. After earning a BA in History from the College of William and Mary in 1963, he attended the Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. He received his commission in March, 1964, and went on the serve five years on active duty. He then enrolled in the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at William and Mary, and graduated in 1972. Mr. Wood spent his legal career with a variety of federal government agencies. The last 11 of this were with the (then) Immigration and Naturalization Service. For the last five of these years he was the lead attorney on all matters relating to immigration bonds. Upon his retirement in 2001, he began a career as a consultant to a number of immigration bond companies. Although retired from the bar, he continues to provide consulting services to immigration bond companies around the country. View all posts by Doug Wood

The Center for Immigration Assistance (CFIA) is the Nation’s most comprehensive resource for immigration/detention and release. From information on the process, to detainee search, to securing someone’s release, CFIA will be able to help.

Immigration Detention: Release on a Surety Bond

Release on a Surety Bond

One of the most effective and efficient ways to release an alien from an immigration detention facility is through a bonding agent and the posting of a surety bond. This process requires that you provide a list of important information to the bonding agent.

Author: Doug Wood