ICE Arrested My Husband at Work Today
If you're reading this, you probably just got the worst phone call of your life. Your husband went to work this morning. Then someone called - a coworker, maybe - and told you he was arrested. ICE. He's gone. No warning. No goodbye. Just a phone number you don't recognize and a pit in your stomach that won't go away.
The next 48 hours matter more than you realize.
Here's what nobody tells you: the system is designed to move faster than you can react. By the time you figure out where he's being held, he could already be transferred to a detention facility hundreds of miles away. By the time you hire a lawyer, critical decisions may already be made. The old playbook - post bond, bring him home, fight the case from here - doesn't work the same way anymore. New 2025 policies changed the rules. Most families don't know this until it's too late.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle immigration detention cases in New York and nationwide. This article explains exactly what's happening right now, what options actually exist, and what you need to do in the next few hours.
What Happens in the First 48 Hours
Right now, your husband is being processed at an ICE facility. Fingerprints. Photograph. Background checks. They're assigning him an A-number - an 8 or 9 digit number that will track his entire case through the immigration system.
But here's the problem. It can take 24 to 72 hours before his name appears in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. During that window, ICE can transfer him to a different facility - sometimes across the country - without notifying you. Your first to be able too find him depends on knowing exactly how to search.
To use the locator, you need his full name AND either his A-number or his date of birth plus country of birth. The system only does exact matches. If a government worker entered his name wrong, or mixed up his first and last names, you won't find him even if hes there.
What you need to gather right now:
- His A-number (look on any green card, work permit, or previous immigration documents)
- The exact spelling of his name as it appears on immigration papers
- His date of birth and country of birth as backup
If you can't find him in the online system, call (866) 347-2423. Try different variations of his name. Try switching first and last name. The locator only works if your spelling matches exactly what they entered.
As of September 2025, over 59,000 people are in ICE custody - the highest number in U.S. history. The average detention length is 44 days. Some facilities average 111 days. These are not jails for people convicted of crimes. The majority of people detained have never been convicted of anything.
Why Bond Probably Isn't Coming
Your first thought is probly: post bond, he comes home, we fight this case from here.
That option may no longer exist.
In summer 2025, everything changed. ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons issued new guidance. The Board of Immigration Appeals decided a case called Matter of Yajure Hurtado. Together, these changes basicly eliminated bond eligibility for most detained immigrants.
The numbers tell the story. In early July 2025, immigration courts were granting more than 100 bonds per day. By late August 2025, that number dropped to about 22 per day. Same courts. Same judges. Different rules. If your husband falls into the new "applicant for admission" category - which now includes most undocumented immigrants - he may not even be eligable for a bond hearing.
This isnt fair. It's simply the current reality.
What makes this worse: 71% of people currently detained by ICE have no criminal conviction at all. Of the 25% with pending criminal charges, most are minor offenses like traffic violations. Your husband could have no criminal record whatsoever and still be held for weeks or months.
Not having a criminal record dosent protect him. The system isn't sorting by guilt or innocence. Its moving people through a process.
There is one piece of potentially good news. In November 2025, a federal district court overruled the Matter of Yajure Hurtado decision. Some bond rights were restored. But the legal landscape changes constantly. What was true last month may not be true today. This is why current legal counsel matters - you need someone who knows what the rules are right now, not six months ago.
What Can Actually Be Done
The government will not provide your husband with a lawyer. He has the right to an attorney, but unlike criminal cases, immigration court dosent come with a public defender. You have to find one. You have to pay for one.
This is the single most important factor in whether he wins or loses his case.
People with legal representation are far more likely to obtain relief from removal. The statistics are dramatic. Those with lawyers win at rates multiple times higher then those without.
Defense options that may apply to his situation:
- Cancellation of Removal - If he's been in the U.S. continuously for 10+ years and his deportation would cause "extreme and exceptionally unusual hardship" to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident family member (like your children, if they're citizens)
- Asylum - If he faces persecution in his home country based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group (usually must apply within one year of entry, but there are exceptions)
- Adjustment of Status - If you're a U.S. citizen, he may be able to obtain a green card through your marriage, even while in removal proceedings
- Withholding of Removal / Convention Against Torture - Lower bar then asylum if he can prove its more likely then not that he'd face persecution or torture if returned
- Motion to Dismiss or Terminate - If theres jurisdictional problems, procedural errors, or he's actualy eligible for citizenship
Which options apply depends on specifics. How long hes been here. His immigration history. Criminal history. Family situation. Manner of entry. An attorney can evaluate which paths remain open.
CRITICAL WARNING: Do NOT let him sign anything without talking to a lawyer first.
ICE officers will offer papers. Voluntary departure forms. Removal orders. They may make it sound like signing is the fastest way home. It's not.
Signing voluntary departure or a removal order waives the right to see an immigration judge. It creates bars to future entry - sometimes 5, 10, or 20 years. It closes doors that might have stayed open. The "easy way out" is often the worst possible path.
If he dosent speak English well, documents may not be fully translated. He may not understand what hes signing. Tell him: sign nothing. Ask for a lawyer. Say "I want to see a judge."
Todd Spodek understands immigration detention cases. The pressure detainees face to sign papers and just go home. The fear. The confusion. The system that moves faster than families can keep up.
When Your Ready to Talk
Your husband was arrested today. Spodek Law Group handles immigration detention cases.
The consultation is free. What you'll get is an honest assessment of where things stand.
Is bond even possible under the new rules? What forms of relief might apply? What's the realistic timeline? What are actual outcomes - not best-case fantasies, but what happens in cases like his?
Call us at 212-300-5196. The first 48 hours matter. Every hour of delay is an hour closer to transfer, an hour closer to decisions made without counsel.
Your husband needs someone in his corner. Were here when you need us.
