ICE Arrested
Someone You Love.
The first 48 hours shape everything that comes after. Our attorneys are available right now — 100% success rate so far in 2026, with countless bond hearing victories over the years.
Text (619) 889-6476 anytime — we respond 24/7, including weekends and holidays
Timeline
What Happens After an ICE Arrest
Understanding what your family member is going through right now — and what can be done at each stage.
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Hours 1–6: Processing & Booking
ICE arrests are followed by immediate processing. Your family member is photographed, fingerprinted, and entered into the system. Phone access is extremely limited during this window. They may not be able to call you yet.
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Hours 6–24: Transfer to a Detention Facility
Most San Diego-area detainees are transferred to Otay Mesa Detention Center, Imperial Regional Detention Facility in El Centro, or Adelanto ICE Processing Center in the Inland Empire. You may not know where they are yet — ICE is required to enter them into their Detainee Locator, but this can take hours.
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Hours 24–48: ICE Makes a Custody Determination — Usually No Bond
ICE will classify your family member as eligible for bond or — far more often — as mandatory detention with no bond. For most people with prior removal orders, criminal history, or other immigration violations, bond hearings before an Immigration Judge are not available. This is where habeas corpus in federal court becomes the primary path to release.
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Days 2 Onward: Habeas Corpus or Bond Hearing — Depending on Your Case
If your family member qualifies for a bond hearing (mainly visa overstays and those who entered without inspection), an Immigration Judge can order release. For everyone else — the majority of ICE detainees — we file a habeas corpus petition in federal district court, taking the case to an independent federal judge entirely outside the immigration system.
Don't wait. Every hour without an attorney is an hour ICE has the advantage.
📞 Call (888) 902-9285 — We Answer NowWhat We Do
Emergency Representation, Start to Finish
From the first phone call to the bond hearing — and through the removal case — here's exactly what our team does.
We Find Them
Within hours of your call, we contact ICE and the detention facility to confirm exactly where your family member is being held and their current status.
Habeas Corpus — Federal Court
For most ICE detainees, a bond hearing is not available. We file habeas corpus petitions in federal district court — the primary path to release for people with prior removal orders, criminal history, or mandatory detention classifications.
Bond Hearings (Where Available)
If your family member qualifies — mainly visa overstays and those who entered without inspection — we prepare and argue the bond case before an Immigration Judge, fighting for release at the lowest possible bond.
Detention Visits
We visit your family member at Otay Mesa, Imperial Regional, or Adelanto so they meet their attorney face-to-face. They won't go through this alone.
Full Removal Defense
We don't just handle the habeas petition or bond hearing and disappear. We take on the entire removal case — hearings, evidence, relief applications — through resolution.
Family Communication
We keep you informed every step of the way. You'll never be left wondering what's happening with your family member's case.
Your Attorney
Modern Law Group — San Diego
Igor Harris
Modern Law Group handles ICE detention, habeas corpus petitions, and removal defense in San Diego. He knows the Immigration Judges at the San Diego Immigration Court, he knows the conditions at Otay Mesa, Imperial Regional, and Adelanto, and he knows whether your family member needs a habeas petition in federal court or a bond hearing — and which one will actually get them home.
When ICE arrests someone, you want the attorney who's walked into immigration court and federal district court and walked out with a win. Igor has done exactly that — five times, without a single loss.
The Primary Path to Release
Habeas Corpus: How Most ICE Detainees Get Out
Bond hearings are available only to a narrow group — mainly people who entered without inspection or overstayed a visa. For everyone else, habeas corpus in federal district court is the primary path to release. This is not a last resort. It is the main tool.
What Is Habeas Corpus?
A habeas corpus petition is a federal court action — filed in U.S. District Court — that challenges whether ICE has the legal right to keep someone detained. It takes the case completely outside the immigration court system to an independent federal judge. This is a constitutional right guaranteed by Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution. It is not a courtesy from the government. It is the law.
When We File Habeas
- ICE has detained someone for weeks or months with no movement
- Bond was denied by the Immigration Judge
- ICE claims “mandatory detention” — whether correctly or not
- A prior removal order blocks access to a bond hearing
- Prolonged detention without a hearing violates due process
- The government is unreasonably delaying the case
What Modern Law Group Does
- File habeas petitions in the Southern District of California
- File in the Central District of California for Adelanto cases
- Challenge mandatory detention classifications in federal court
- Argue due process violations from prolonged detention
- Win release for people detained months — sometimes years
If your family member has been detained for more than a few weeks with no bond hearing and no movement on the case, habeas corpus is likely your strongest — and sometimes only — option. Modern Law Group has won habeas cases securing release of people detained for months. Call us to discuss whether this is the right path for your family.
San Diego Area Detention
Facilities We Serve
ICE arrests across San Diego County, Imperial County, and the Inland Empire result in transfer to one of these three facilities. We have experience at all three and provide in-person representation at each.
🏢 Otay Mesa Detention Center
Location: 7488 Calzada de la Fuente, San Diego, CA 92154
Operated by CoreCivic under contract with ICE. The primary ICE detention facility for San Diego County arrests. Habeas petitions for Otay Mesa detainees are filed in the Southern District of California. Attorney Harris visits clients here regularly.
🏢 Imperial Regional Detention Facility
Location: 1572 Gateway Road, Calexico, CA 92231
Serves Imperial County and overflow from San Diego. Managed by the Imperial County Sheriff's Office. Habeas petitions filed in the Southern District of California. We provide representation and detention visits here as well.
🏢 Adelanto ICE Processing Center
Location: 10400 Rancho Road, Adelanto, CA 92301
Operated by the GEO Group under contract with ICE. One of the largest ICE detention facilities in California, serving the Inland Empire, Los Angeles overflow, and broader Southern California. Habeas petitions for Adelanto detainees are filed in the Central District of California. We provide full representation and in-person visits here.
If your family member has been transferred out of Southern California, we can still represent them. Modern Law Group has offices in Brooklyn (NY), Fort Worth (TX), Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Miami.
Transparent Pricing
What Emergency Representation Costs
We know this is not how you planned to spend money. Here's what you need to know.
- Emergency intake and case assessment
- Locating your family member in the ICE system
- Habeas corpus petition in federal district court (where applicable)
- Bond hearing preparation and court appearance (where eligible)
- Detention visits at Otay Mesa, Imperial Regional, or Adelanto
- Full removal defense case management
- Direct attorney access throughout
The final fee within this range depends on case complexity — criminal history, prior removal orders, mandatory detention issues, and the strength of available relief options. We'll give you an exact number before you commit.
📞 Call Now to Discuss Your CaseClient Experiences
Families We've Helped
"ICE took my husband on a Tuesday morning. By Thursday we had an attorney at Otay Mesa and a bond hearing scheduled. He was home within two weeks. I don't know what we would have done without Modern Law Group."
"My brother had a prior removal order and ICE said there was no bond. Igor Harris challenged that and got him out. He's been fighting the case for us ever since. Five stars doesn't cover it."
"I called at midnight and someone actually answered. By the next morning they had found where ICE was holding my father and told me exactly what was going to happen next. That's what I needed — answers, not voicemail."
Questions & Answers
What Families Ask Us at 2am
Your Family Needs You to Make the Call.
Every hour without an attorney is an hour of missed preparation. We're answering phones right now.
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