Immigration Bond Hearing in Pinellas County: Getting a Loved One Out of ICE Detention

For families in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and across Pinellas County, an ICE detention is often the first time they encounter immigration court at all. The good news is that most people in removal proceedings can ask a judge for release through a bond hearing — and a recent Eleventh Circuit ruling has restored that right for many Pinellas residents who entered without inspection. Acting quickly is what turns eligibility into an actual release.

What Is an Immigration Bond Hearing?

An immigration bond hearing is a proceeding before an immigration judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) where the judge decides whether a detained noncitizen is eligible for release and, if so, the bond amount and any conditions.

Bond authority comes from INA § 236(a) (8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)), which gives immigration judges discretion to release a person on bond during removal proceedings — unless the person falls into a category Congress made subject to mandatory detention. At the hearing, the person seeking release (the “respondent”) generally carries the burden — under Matter of Guerra — to show, to the immigration judge's satisfaction, that they are not a danger to the community and not a flight risk. (Some courts require the government to justify continued detention by clear and convincing evidence once detention becomes prolonged, but the Eleventh Circuit, which governs Florida, has not adopted that burden-shift.) The government is represented by an attorney from ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA).

Who Is Eligible for an Immigration Bond?

Most people in removal proceedings may request a bond, but several categories are barred under mandatory-detention rules:

• Not eligible: people subject to mandatory detention under INA § 236(c) because of certain criminal convictions (aggravated felonies, most controlled-substance offenses, many crimes involving moral turpitude, and certain firearm offenses); people with a prior removal order who reentered (reinstatement); and people in expedited removal at the border.
• Generally eligible: people arrested in the interior with no disqualifying criminal history; many asylum seekers and people with pending relief; and lawful permanent residents in removal proceedings, unless a conviction triggers § 236(c).

The 2026 Legal Shift — and Why It Matters in Pinellas County

In 2025, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued Matter of Q. Li (May 2025) and Matter of Yajure-Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025), holding that noncitizens who entered without inspection are “applicants for admission” detained under INA § 235(b) — so immigration judges have no authority to grant them a bond hearing. Federal appeals courts are now split on that reading, and the issue is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Here is what matters for anyone detained in Pinellas County: Florida sits in the Eleventh Circuit. In Alvarez v. Warden, Federal Detention Center Miami, No. 25-14065 (11th Cir. May 6, 2026), the Eleventh Circuit rejected the BIA's position for people arrested in the interior, holding that immigrants who entered without inspection but were later arrested inside the country are generally entitled to bond hearings under INA § 236(a) — not mandatory detention under § 235(b). The case involved two long-term residents with U.S. citizen children arrested after traffic stops in Florida, who were released after the court affirmed habeas relief.

Bottom line: Under current Eleventh Circuit precedent, many detained immigrants in Florida — including those who entered without inspection — are entitled to a bond hearing. But this is a fast-moving, contested area: the court has withheld its mandate in Alvarez (a sign that rehearing en banc may be under consideration), and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to take up the underlying circuit split. The rule could change, so acting quickly with counsel matters.

What a Judge Considers

Immigration judges weigh factors drawn from Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006):

Step by Step: How the Bond Process Works

1. Custody determination. After arrest, ICE decides whether to detain, release, or set an initial bond — often within days.
2. Requesting the hearing. Once the person is in ICE custody, we file a bond motion with the immigration court. Hearings are typically scheduled within about one to four weeks.
3. Preparing the packet. This is where cases are won — a well-organized written packet submitted before the hearing routinely outperforms oral argument alone.
4. The hearing. Usually by video conference — judge in the courtroom, respondent on camera from the facility, ICE OPLA arguing against bond, your attorney presenting your case.
5. The decision. The judge rules on the record: grant or deny, the amount, and conditions.
6. Payment and release. After the bond is paid, release usually follows within 24 to 72 hours.
7. Appeals. Either side can appeal the bond decision to the BIA.

Bond Packet Checklist

• Sponsor declaration from a qualifying U.S. citizen or LPR family member + proof of housing (lease or mortgage)
• Proof of family ties: marriage certificate, children's birth certificates, I-94, photographs
• Employment & finances: pay stubs, an employer letter, several years of tax transcripts
• Community ties: letters from employers, faith leaders, and community members; children's school records
• Proof of any pending immigration relief
• Certified records of any criminal disposition

How Much Is an Immigration Bond in Florida?

• Statutory minimum: $1,500 (rarely the real-world amount)
• Strong case, no criminal history: roughly $5,000–$15,000
• Weaker ties or a mixed record: roughly $15,000–$25,000
• Significant criminal history: $25,000+

Two ways to pay. A cash bond is paid through ICE's CeBONDS system in certified funds for the full amount; the person who pays gets it back with interest at the end of the case if the respondent attends every hearing. A surety bond is arranged through a licensed immigration bond company that charges a non-refundable premium of about 15% and may require collateral. Bonds cannot be paid by credit card or in installments.

When a Judge Denies a Bond Hearing: Habeas Corpus

If an immigration judge refuses to hold a bond hearing — or detention drags on without meaningful review — a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court may be the remedy. The Eleventh Circuit's decision in Alvarez came out of exactly that kind of challenge. The best time to evaluate a habeas petition is soon after a no-bond ruling, before prolonged detention takes its toll.

How Detention Works for Pinellas County Residents

People arrested in Pinellas County are generally first booked into the Pinellas County Jail at 14400 49th Street N, Clearwater, FL 33762. Once ICE lodges an immigration detainer, the person is usually transferred into federal custody and moved to a facility such as Baker County, Glades County, the Broward Transitional Center, or Krome in Miami. Bond hearings for Pinellas detainees are then heard on the Orlando or Miami (Krome) detained docket, typically by video conference. Because a transfer can move the case hours away from Tampa Bay, early action by an attorney matters.

Talk to a Pinellas County Immigration Bond Attorney

We serve families throughout Tampa Bay, including all of Pinellas County. From our Temple Terrace office we can move fast on a St. Petersburg or Clearwater detention — reviewing the record, preparing the bond packet, and filing before a transfer complicates the case.

Reviewed by Ahmad Yakzan, Esq., LL.M. — Managing Attorney, American Dream Law Office PLLC

Removal-defense and crimmigration attorney and federal appellate advocate. Member of The Florida Bar since 2011; admitted before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida, the District of Columbia, the Western District of Texas, and the District of Colorado. J.D., Stetson University College of Law. #1 Amazon best-selling author of The American Dream on Trial. Super Lawyers Rising Stars (2017–2020). Practices in English and Arabic.