What is Habeas

What is Habeas

Hi everyone, welcome back to our immigration terms and information series. My name is Lauren McClure and I am an attorney here at Kriezelman Burton & Associates. Today we are going to discuss Habeas. You may be asking yourself what exactly Habeas is. In short, Habeas is the short form of the phrase Habeas Corpus. This is the legal procedure that keeps the government from holding a person indefinitely without showing cause. For immigrants, it is the process of challenging prolonged detention, usually after that person has lost their case in immigration court, and has been ordered to be deported. 

There are many reasons why the government may not be able to immediately deport a person, leaving them in detention for some time months, and in some cases, years. The Supreme Court has found that immigrants cannot be detained for an indefinite period of time. Therefore, if a person is held for more than six months after a removal order is issued, their detention is considered unreasonable and the government must show that their removal will occur in the reasonably foreseeable future. 

In practice, an immigrant can challenge their prolonged detention by filing a petition right for Habeas Corpus in federal court. The petition is filled in a district court where the person is detained, and a federal court judge decides whether or not the government must release the person. 

Since petitions for Habeas Corpus are filed in a federal district court, it is important to work with an attorney who is admitted to practice in the federal district court and who has experience in filing these types of cases. If you know someone who has been detained for a lengthy period of time and you think they may qualify to file a Habeas petition, contact the immigration lawyers at Kriezelman Burton & Associates. We are here to help you and your loved ones in their immigration cases.