Getting Someone Out of ICE Detention: Bond Hearings and Habeas Corpus Explained

Lead Supervisory Associate Attorney: Complex Federal & State Litigation

Accurate as of

September 25, 2026

Most people held by ICE are released by asking an immigration judge for a bond hearing under INA 236(a), where the judge can set a bond of at least $1,500 if the person shows they are not a danger and will appear for court. If the government claims the person is ineligible for bond (because of mandatory detention under INA 236(c) or its position that anyone who entered without inspection must be detained), the remedy is a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. 2241 in the federal district court where the person is held, and a parole request to ICE should run alongside both.

How do I find someone ICE has detained?

Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. You can search by A-number and country of birth, or by exact first and last name and country of birth. Spelling must match ICE's records, so try variations (both surnames, with and without accents). Two limits matter: people under 18 do not appear, and a result of "not in custody" means release within the last 60 days, which can include removal. If the search fails, call the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office for the area where the arrest happened. People are often moved within hours, so check again before every call.

Who can get a bond hearing?

A person detained under INA 236(a) (8 U.S.C. 1226(a)) may be released on "bond of at least $1,500." ICE makes the first custody decision. If ICE sets no bond or a bond the family cannot pay, the detained person can ask the immigration court to redetermine custody under 8 CFR 1236.1(d) and 8 CFR 1003.19. The request can be made in writing or orally, to the immigration court where the person is detained.

The legal standard is whether release would pose a danger to persons or property and whether the person is likely to appear (8 CFR 1236.1(c)(8)). Judges weigh factors such as family ties, length of residence, employment, criminal record and immigration history (Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006)). In Massachusetts and the rest of the First Circuit, due process puts the burden on the government: it must prove danger by clear and convincing evidence or flight risk by a preponderance of the evidence (Hernandez-Lara v. Lyons, 10 F.4th 19 (1st Cir. Aug. 19, 2021)).

Three rules shape strategy:

One real shot. After the first redetermination, a new request is heard only on a showing that circumstances "have changed materially" (8 CFR 1003.19(e)). Bring the full evidence packet the first time.
Automatic stay. If ICE ordered no bond or set bond at $10,000 or more, ICE can freeze a judge's release order by filing Form EOIR-43 within one business day (8 CFR 1003.19(i)(2)).
Appeal. Either side can appeal a bond decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (8 CFR 1236.1(d)(3)).

Who is not eligible for bond?

Mandatory detention under INA 236(c). Immigration judges cannot set bond for people described in 8 U.S.C. 1226(c)(1): certain criminal grounds of inadmissibility or deportability, terrorism grounds, and, since the Laken Riley Act of 2025, people inadmissible for entry without inspection, misrepresentation or lack of documents who are charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admit to burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or a crime causing death or serious bodily injury. A person can still ask the judge to find that they are "not properly included" in those categories (8 CFR 1003.19(h)(2)(ii); Matter of Joseph, 22 I&N Dec. 799 (BIA 1999)).

Arriving aliens. People stopped at a port of entry are outside the judge's bond authority (8 CFR 1003.19(h)(2)(i)(B)); release for them runs through parole.

People who entered without inspection: the contested category. In Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA Sept. 5, 2025), the Board held that immigration judges "lack authority to hear bond requests or to grant bond to aliens who are present in the United States without admission," treating them as detained under INA 235(b)(2)(A) no matter how long they have lived here. Federal courts have largely rejected that reading. The next section states where things stand.

Status, stated precisely

Matter of Yajure Hurtado remains a published BIA precedent. The Board has not withdrawn it.
Nationwide class case. In Maldonado Bautista v. Santacruz, No. 5:25-cv-01873 (C.D. Cal.), the court certified a nationwide class (November 25, 2025), entered a declaratory judgment that class members are detained under 236(a) and entitled to bond consideration (December 18, 2025), and vacated Yajure Hurtado under the Administrative Procedure Act (February 18, 2026). On March 31, 2026, the Ninth Circuit (No. 26-1044) stayed those orders to the extent they reach beyond the Central District of California. The appeal is pending.
Massachusetts. In Guerrero Orellana v. Moniz, Nos. 25-2152 and 26-1094 (1st Cir. Aug. 13, 2026), the First Circuit held that "seeking admission" means seeking lawful entry, so a person who entered without inspection and was later arrested inside the country is detained under 236(a) and may seek bond. The court affirmed class relief covering people arrested or detained in Massachusetts or within a Massachusetts immigration court's jurisdiction who were never admitted or paroled, excluding people in expedited removal or subject to 236(c).
Circuit split. The Sixth Circuit reached the same result in Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, No. 25-1965 (6th Cir. May 11, 2026). As tracked by CLINIC on September 11, 2026, the Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits also rejected mandatory detention for interior arrestees, while the Fifth Circuit (Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, No. 25-20496) and the Eighth Circuit (Avila v. Bondi, No. 25-3248) sided with the government. The Fifth Circuit heard en banc argument on a related due process question on September 24, 2026.
Supreme Court. The government's petition in Putra v. Lopez-Campos, No. 25-1415, is distributed for the September 28, 2026 conference. Distribution is not a grant of review. Related petitions (Nos. 26-104 and 26-43) are pending.

What this means in practice: where you are detained now decides whether you get a bond hearing, and that could change quickly if the Supreme Court takes the issue.

When is habeas corpus the answer?

A habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. 2241 asks a federal district judge to order release, or to order a constitutionally adequate bond hearing, when detention is unlawful. It is the right tool when:

ICE or the immigration court refuses a bond hearing under Yajure Hurtado or a disputed 236(c) charge;
detention has become prolonged without meaningful review; or
the bond hearing applied the wrong legal standard or burden.

File in the district where the person is confined, naming the immediate custodian (usually the facility warden or superintendent) along with ICE officials (Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426 (2004)). The statute that shields discretionary bond decisions from review, 8 U.S.C. 1226(e), does not bar challenges to the legal framework of detention (Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281 (2018)). Speed matters because a transfer to another state can complicate where the case belongs, so counsel should consider asking the court at filing to bar transfer while the petition is pending.

What about parole?

For arriving aliens and others ICE treats as held under INA 235, release runs through parole under INA 212(d)(5)(A) and 8 CFR 212.5(b), which lists humanitarian grounds such as serious medical conditions, pregnancy, and cases where continued detention is not in the public interest. For people held under 236(a), ICE can also grant conditional parole or release on recognizance (8 U.S.C. 1226(a)(2)(B)). A written parole request to the ICE field office costs nothing, and it should be filed alongside a bond request or habeas petition, never instead of them.

How is bond paid?

A U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, a law firm or a nonprofit can post a delivery bond through ICE's online CeBONDS system, with payment by Fedwire or ACH. The person posting (the obligor) needs proof of status, such as a passport or green card. ICE field offices may accept walk-in obligors case by case.

What to do in the first 48 hours

Search the Online Detainee Locator with the A-number and country of birth; write down the facility name.
Call an immigration lawyer the same day. Bond, parole and habeas decisions turn on where and under which statute the person is held.
Tell the detained person not to sign anything, especially voluntary departure or stipulated removal papers, before speaking with counsel.
Gather the bond packet: proof of identity and address, years of residence, tax returns, pay stubs, birth certificates of U.S. citizen children, letters from employers, clergy and community members, and a sponsor willing to house the person.
Collect every criminal record, including dismissed charges. Under the Laken Riley Act, an arrest alone can trigger mandatory detention.
Identify the obligor (U.S. citizen or permanent resident) and confirm they can pay by Fedwire or ACH.
If ICE or the court says no bond hearing is possible, ask counsel about a habeas petition immediately, before a transfer.

Sources

Accurate as of September 25, 2026.

Written by

Maeve Healy, Esq.

Lead Supervisory Associate Attorney: Complex Federal & State Litigation

A former prosecutor and formidable trial attorney, Maeve commands complex federal and state litigation with an insider's mastery of courtroom and prosecutorial strategy.

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