Legal Question in Immigration Law in New Jersey

Arrested at Newark Airport

My brother-in law went on a vacation to Dominican Republic, returned last week and upon entring USA (Newark airport) he was detained for a few hours. The outcome was that his residency documents were taken from him and he was asked to return to Newark on May 20th to retrieve the data. On May 20th he was arrested upon his arrival to Newark. The only thing we have been able to know is that he was recently sent to New Brunswick awaiting trial. How do we find out what the charges are and exactly where he is being detained? We are trying to seek a lawyer, but we don't even know the exact charges. He did have a criminal case over 10 years ago, but he complied with his responsibilities back then. Since then he has been a prime citizen and hard worker and tax payer.


Asked on 5/27/09, 12:24 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Kerry Bretz Bretz & Coven, LLP

Re: Arrested at Newark Airport

My Name is Kerry Bretz and I am a partner at Bretz & Coven, LLP, a firm concentrating in deportation defense. My guess is that he has an old criminal history and that is the basis for a removal case. Very often people are deportable for a criminal history but Immigration or ICE never knew about until the person traveled. Sometimes, they travel many times before something like this happens. The process is complicated and confusing. Waiting is never a good strategy. What I will need to know is when he first came to the US, when and how be became a lawful permanent resident, what he has in his criminal history. I will also need to know that status of his immediate family: Parents, spouse, children (citizens or residents). I accept collect calls from jail, so he is free to call me. What you need to worry about is that ICE often moves detainees from NJ, to PA to Texas. Once I know the information requested, I can give you a better idea of whether he is deportable or inadmissible and or eligible for relief from deportation, often called a waiver. Although there is a process to help people in his circumstance to be released, most often, airport cases will remain detained until they either win and get released or lose and get deported. At Bretz and Coven, we speak Spanish and many of my staff are native Dominicans. We have a lot of experience in these cases and careful planning and excelent represention are essentially to winning. Please feel free to visit our web site: www.bretzlaw.com. Thank you, Kerry Bretz

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Answered on 5/27/09, 12:49 pm
Kerry Bretz Bretz & Coven, LLP

Re: Arrested at Newark Airport

My Name is Kerry Bretz and I am a partner at Bretz & Coven, LLP, a firm concentrating in deportation defense. My guess is that he has an old criminal history and that is the basis for a removal case. Very often people are deportable for a criminal history but Immigration or ICE never knew about until the person traveled. Sometimes, they travel many times before something like this happens. The process is complicated and confusing. Waiting is never a good strategy. What I will need to know is when he first came to the US, when and how be became a lawful permanent resident, what he has in his criminal history. I will also need to know that status of his immediate family: Parents, spouse, children (citizens or residents). I accept collect calls from jail, so he is free to call me. What you need to worry about is that ICE often moves detainees from NJ, to PA to Texas. Once I know the information requested, I can give you a better idea of whether he is deportable or inadmissible and or eligible for relief from deportation, often called a waiver. Although there is a process to help people in his circumstance to be released, most often, airport cases will remain detained until they either win and get released or lose and get deported. At Bretz and Coven, we speak Spanish and many of my staff are native Dominicans. We have a lot of experience in these cases and careful planning and excelent represention are essentially to winning. Please feel free to visit our web site: www.bretzlaw.com. Thank you, Kerry Bretz

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Answered on 5/27/09, 12:49 pm


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