Federal court · 28 U.S.C. § 2241
When immigration court cannot release someone, a federal judge can be asked.
We file habeas corpus petitions for people held by ICE who were refused a bond hearing, have been held for a long time without one, or remain detained after a final order with no removal in sight.
Habeas challenges the detention, not the deportation order. A removal order is reviewed in the court of appeals, by a different filing with its own deadline.
What it is · Where it goes · What it can do
Habeas corpus asks one question: is this detention lawful?
Immigration judges work inside the immigration system and follow its rules on who can get a bond hearing. A federal district judge sits outside that system and can decide whether the detention itself violates the Constitution or federal law.
A lawsuit about custody
The petition explains who is holding the person, under which law, for how long, and why that is unlawful. The government then has to answer in writing.
How a case movesFiled where the person is held
A habeas petition goes to the federal district court for the place of detention and names the official who has custody. That is why a transfer matters so much.
TransfersA hearing, release, or a denial
A judge who grants the petition often orders a bond hearing with set rules, and sometimes orders release. A judge can also deny it. Nobody can promise an outcome.
What it can and cannot doWhen habeas fits
Four situations bring families to federal court.
Which one applies depends on the law ICE is using to hold the person. The custody paperwork and the judge's order answer that.
The judge said there is no power to hold a bond hearing
Since 2025 the government has argued that people who entered without inspection must be held without bond, and the Board agreed in Matter of Yajure Hurtado. On August 28, 2026, the Third Circuit rejected that reading in Buele Morocho for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. On October 1, 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to decide the question.
Mandatory detention has gone on too long
Some criminal grounds require detention without bond under INA § 236(c). In the Third Circuit, when that detention becomes unreasonably long, a federal court can order a bond hearing where the government must justify continued detention by clear and convincing evidence.
There is a final order, but no removal
After a final order, custody runs under INA § 241 and an immigration judge cannot set bond. Under Supreme Court precedent, after six months a person who shows good reason to believe removal is not likely in the reasonably foreseeable future can put the government to its proof.
The person was stopped at the border or paroled in
People held under INA § 235(b) generally cannot get bond from an immigration judge. Release usually runs through a parole request to ICE, and federal court may be the only judicial route.
If a judge can hear a bond request, that usually comes first. See immigration bond hearings.
A strong tool with a narrow job
Habeas gets a person in front of a judge. It does not win the immigration case.
Families plan better when they know both columns.
Questions a federal judge can decide
- Whether the law ICE relies on allows this detention
- Whether the person is owed a bond hearing, and under what rules
- Whether detention has become unreasonably long
- Whether removal is realistically going to happen after a final order
Limits that matter for planning
- It does not cancel a removal order; that review belongs in the court of appeals
- It does not decide asylum, cancellation, or any other relief
- It does not ensure release: a bond hearing can still end in a denial
- It does not pay or lower a bond that has already been set
- Expedited removal has its own, much narrower rules for court review
Transfers
Where the person is held decides which court and which law.
ICE moves people between facilities, sometimes across the country and without warning. The law on bond is not the same in every circuit, so a move can change the answer.
Tell us about any move the day it happens. A habeas petition belongs in the district where the person is held, and one filed before a transfer generally stays with that court.
- Know the facility. Check the ICE detainee locator daily and write down the facility name and the person's A-number.
- Third Circuit today. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, a person who entered without inspection and was arrested inside the country may ask for bond.
- Other circuits differ. The Fifth and Eighth Circuits have held the opposite. A person moved to Texas or Louisiana is under Fifth Circuit law.
- The Supreme Court will decide. It agreed on October 1, 2026 to take up the question, so the rule could change everywhere.
- Keep every paper. The custody notice, the judge's bond order, and the notice to appear show which law ICE is using.
How a habeas case moves
The work starts with the reason for custody.
Every court and judge sets its own schedule, so we do not quote timelines. These are the steps.
- 01
Custody review
We get the custody paperwork, the court record, and any bond order, and confirm where the person is held and under which section of the law.
- 02
Choose the route
A bond request, a Board appeal, a parole request, and a habeas petition are different tools. Some run together. A federal court may ask whether a Board appeal was taken first.
- 03
File the petition
The petition and its evidence are filed in the federal district court for the place of detention. If a transfer or removal is close, we can ask the court for emergency relief.
- 04
The government answers
The judge orders the government to respond. We reply in writing, and some judges hold a hearing.
- 05
The judge rules
If the petition is granted, the order usually sets a bond hearing or release terms. We then prepare the bond case itself: family, work, community ties, and any record.
Private two-minute guide
Where should a custody review start?
Answer three general questions. The guide suggests where a first review should start; it does not decide anything or send your answers to the firm.
Sources
Find the person and check the case here.
Official tools first, then our guides on bond and the Third Circuit decision.
Habeas questions
Short answers for families
The custody papers and the place of detention may change these answers.
What is a habeas corpus petition in an immigration case?
It is a lawsuit in federal district court, under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, that asks a judge to decide whether ICE is holding a person in violation of the Constitution or federal law. It is separate from the immigration court case.
Can habeas stop a deportation?
Not by itself. Congress made a petition for review in the court of appeals the only way to challenge a removal order. Habeas addresses custody. If removal is close, ask about a stay and a motion to reopen right away.
The judge said he could not hold a bond hearing. Is that the end?
No. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, the Third Circuit held on August 28, 2026 that people who entered without inspection and were arrested inside the country are held under INA § 236(a) and may ask for bond. The Supreme Court agreed on October 1, 2026 to decide the same question, so this could change. The decision does not reach expedited removal or mandatory detention under § 236(c).
How long must someone be detained before filing?
It depends on the claim. A claim that the law never allowed detention without a hearing can be filed at once. A claim that detention has become unreasonably long depends on the length and the reasons. After a final order, the Supreme Court treats six months as the point where the government may have to show removal is likely soon.
What happens if ICE transfers the person after we file?
A petition filed in the right district before a transfer generally stays with that court. A petition filed after the move belongs in the new district, under that circuit's law. That is why timing matters.
If the judge grants the petition, does the person go home?
Sometimes, but more often the order requires a bond hearing within a set time. At that hearing the questions are danger and flight risk, and the family still needs letters, records, and a plan.
Does a habeas case delay or hurt the immigration case?
They are separate cases in separate courts, and the immigration case keeps moving. Detained dockets move quickly, so the defense to removal has to be prepared at the same time.
What does it cost?
The federal court charges its own filing fee. Our fee is flat and quoted in writing after we review the custody papers, and each stage is quoted separately: the bond hearing, any Board appeal, the habeas petition, and the removal case. Payment plans may be available for legal fees.
Habeas representation at a glance
- Who we represent
- People held by ICE in eastern and central Pennsylvania, and their families in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley. For facilities in other districts, we tell you plainly whether we can appear or whether you need local counsel.
- Languages
- English and Spanish.
- Court
- The federal district court for the place of detention.
- Federal admissions
- J. Alexander Short, Esq.: U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
- Main law
- 28 U.S.C. § 2241; INA §§ 235(b), 236(a), 236(c), and 241.
- What to bring
- A-number, facility name, custody notice, notice to appear, any bond order, and court records for any arrest.
- Our fees
- Flat fee per stage, quoted in writing after review; payment plans may be available.
- Office
- 609 W. Hamilton Street, No. 102, Allentown, PA 18101 · (484) 763-4984
Information reviewed against official sources, including 28 U.S.C. § 2241, INA §§ 235, 236, 241, and 242(a)(5), and decisions of the Supreme Court and the Third Circuit, on November 11, 2026. This page provides general information, not legal advice; it does not predict a decision or create an attorney-client relationship. Detention law is changing and differs by circuit.
Reviewed and updated
Facility · Papers · Dates
Tell us where the person is held and what the judge said.
A first review can start with the A-number, the facility, and any paper ICE or the court has given you. We will tell you which route fits and what it involves.
English and Spanish · Allentown · Pennsylvania · New Jersey · New York · Representation where permitted