Being arrested for any reason is stressful but if your boyfriend is an illegal immigrant and is arrested on a criminal charge unrelated to his immigration status, he may also find himself in trouble with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE has limited resources, which means they must prioritize who they interview when it comes to possible deportation. Those recently charged with committing crimes in the USA typically rate high on their list. When your boyfriend is booked into jail, the intake officers will ask for his name, social security number and driver’s license number. If he can't provide this information it raises a red flag, and they detect that they might have an undocumented immigrant in custody. Some jails automatically call ICE when a suspected undocumented immigrant is being booked. Others only make the call when the charge is a violent felony. And there are times when jails get busy, it slips through the cracks and the call doesn't happen at all. In most cases, your boyfriend's information will also get entered into a national database that ICE can access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If ICE has an interest in your boyfriend, it notifies the jail to place a detainer on him. A detainer means the jail will hold him for up to 48 hours. If ICE does not interview him within that time, the detainer expires. What this means to you is if there is an ICE detainer on your boyfriend, even if you pay the bail, he cannot be released. However, if ICE does not take action within the required timeframe and you have paid a bond, the jail must release him. If ICE conducts its interview and determines he is an undocumented immigrant, he will have an “unlawful entry to the US” charge added to the original charge that got him arrested. In addition, if your boyfriend has prior criminal convictions, ICE can get him held without any bond. Final thought: Only an attorney should advise you about a case, but the minute you know he is arrested you might want to contact one who specializes in immigration criminal cases. This way, if ICE gets involved you have the attorney ready. If ICE doesn't get involved, the attorney can still handle the criminal charge. Immigration Detention Centers and Detainees New York City ICE An Immigrant’s Dream, Detained