Being arrested and spending the night in a local jail is a disorienting experience in the best of times; imagine what it must be like to be arrested and jailed in a facility a hundred miles away from where you live. That’s exactly what happens to undocumented immigrants in Connecticut who are rounded up in raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency that’s not known for its gentle tactics.

Because of a quirk in the federal holding system, there are no detention facilities for illegal immigrants in Connecticut. Undocumented workers and residents who are rounded up in ICE raids are sent to one of three facilities in Massachusetts. If the detainee happens to live in the far south of Connecticut (e.g., Stamford), that can mean a two-hour drive, not only for him but for any members of his family who want to visit him at the facility. This isolation from friends and family can be extremely disheartening, and causes many detainees to simply give up and resign themselves to being deported. It may also make them more likely to hire lawyers who practice in Massachusetts, which is a big mistake since they were arrested in Connecticut!

Connecticut immigration lawyer James A. Welcome is familiar with the story of hard-working but undocumented immigrants in this state who are taken into custody by ICE and remanded to a facility in Massachusetts. James will make it his first priority to spring you from ICE detention, if at all possible, and to hasten the process by which the authorities decide on your immigration status (that is, whether to seek deportation or opt for a lesser penalty).

James and his staff are fluent in Spanish, and welcome inquiries from non-English-speaking Connecticut residents. Call James today at (203) 806-7922, or email him at jwelcome@welcomelawfirm.com, for a free consultation!