Immigration Bond Breach: What Happens Next?

When an immigrant is deemed eligible for release through an immigration bond, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency believes that the individual will abide by the terms of their release. This can mean different things, depending on the type of bond that they secured. In either case, when an immigrant does not comply with ICE while they are released on an immigration bond, it is known as an immigration bond breach. When this occurs, there are serious consequences for both the immigrant themselves and their immigration bond sponsor (the person who paid for their bond). So, what happens after the bond is breached?

For starters, it is important to understand exactly what may warrant an immigration bond breach. For those with delivery bonds, a breach typically means that the immigrant failed to appear either in court or at an ICE office as requested. This is a serious offense as ICE may view this failure to appear as an attempt to avoid the agency or it may indicate that the immigrant has attempted to flee the area. Other scenarios may also result in a breach of bond, such as getting arrested for criminal charges. In either case, the ICE agency will revoke the bond as a result. This means that the immigrant is no longer free to remain at home while their case processes through the court system. The agency may issue a warrant for the arrest of the immigrant and they will likely be detained in an ICE facility once again until their case is resolved. 

As for the immigration bond sponsor, when an immigration bond breach occurs, the individual forfeits their right to a refund. Because the agreement was broken, ICE is legally able to retain all of the money that was paid to get the immigrant released on a bond.

The results of an immigration bond breach are the same when a departure bond is in place. In this case, a breach is typically the result of the immigrant not leaving the country. ICE will usually give the immigrant a period of time between 30 to 90 days by which they must arrange their own departure from the U.S. If the immigrant fails to do so, they will have a warrant issued for their arrest and will be taken back into ICE custody. At this point, ICE may opt to follow an expedited removal or standard deportation process to remove the immigrant from the country. This will go on their record and they will not be granted re-entry into the United States in the future. The immigration bond sponsor will also lose their right to a refund in this instance as well. 

For those who used an immigration bond service to purchase a surety bond instead of paying in full at an ICE facility, an immigration bond breach means that collateral will be collected. The bond service will lose the money that they paid to ICE to secure the release of the immigration. To regain the lost funds, the bond service will take ownership of the collateral provided.

Want to learn more about an immigration bond breach or how to get an immigration bond? Reach out to the experts at US Immigration Bonds today.