New Jersey Immigration Habeas Corpus Lawyer

When the Immigration Judge Denies Your Family Member’s Bond Request, Our New Jersey Immigration Habeas Corpus Attorney Quickly Seeks Release in Federal Court

If your family member is detained by immigration authorities (ICE), and if an immigration judge denied or refused to grant a bond, do not lose hope. The next step is filing a Habeas Corpus Petition with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Filing an Immigration Habeas Corpus Petition is highly time sensitive because ICE will transfer your loved one out of New Jersey very quickly. Once the Immigration Habeas Corpus Petition is filed, we ask the District Court of New Jersey to issue an order to stop ICE from transferring your loved one out of New Jersey.

At the Law Office of Nita Kundanmal, P.C., we ensure that your Immigration Habeas Corpus Petition is filed at the District Court of New Jersey as fast as possible, sometimes within hours of hiring her to represent your loved one. Nita Kundanmal is your New Jersey Immigration Habeas Corpus lawyer who is persistent with her efforts to bring your loved one home.

A September 2025 Immigration Decision Made The Bond Request Process Harder

In September 2025, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado that changed the law for non-citizens requesting bond hearings from the Immigration Judge. Since then, Immigration Judges have no authority to hold bond hearings for people who entered the U.S. without permission.

This ruling means that Immigration Judges cannot use their discretion to set a bond for a detainee’s release, even if the individual has lived in the United States for years, has very strong family relationships, and would most likely appear in Immigration Court after being released for his future court proceedings. Before this decision was issued, individuals who entered without permission and were detained were able to ask an Immigration Judge to set bond for decades.

But attorneys like Nita Kundanmal are now filing Immigration Habeas Corpus Petitions in Federal Court to fight detention and help people get released. In New Jersey, some Federal District Court Judges order ICE to immediately release the detained individual, who an Immigration Judge denied even a bond hearing.

Hiring an immigration habeas corpus attorney in New Jersey at this stage may be the most important decision you make for your loved one. Our firm understands the challenges these cases present, as well as the opportunities. Contact us today for a confidential consultation with a dedicated immigration lawyer. Let us help your family explore every option.

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Is Your Family Member Detained?

The families who come to us do not fit a single profile. They are parents, spouses, siblings, and neighbors who have been swept into a system that moves fast and shows little mercy. What they share is that someone they love has been detained, often without warning, and the road to release is no longer clear.

You may be in the right place if:

• Your loved one has been detained by ICE, and the Immigration Judge has refused to hold a bond hearing.
• Your family member is facing both a criminal charge and immigration removal proceedings at the same time.
• Your loved one has been held in detention for weeks or months with no clear resolution in sight.
• You are not sure where your family member is being held or what legal options remain.
• ICE has transferred or is threatening to transfer your loved one to a facility in another state. If so, you have to act very fast to prevent the transfer.

If any of this sounds like your family's situation, we are here. These are precisely the cases we are experienced in handling.

What Habeas Corpus Is and How It Can Help Your Loved One

"Habeas corpus" is a legal term that means people have the right to challenge unlawful detention. This is one of the oldest and most important protections in our legal system.

For non-citizens, an Immigration habeas corpus petition is filed directly in a U.S. federal district court, not in immigration court. It asks a federal judge to review whether the government has a lawful basis to continue holding your loved one in detention.

What happens if the District Court judge finds that the government does not have a lawful basis to hold someone in detention? The court can:

• Order your loved one to be released
• Force the government to provide a proper bond hearing

This process allows immigration attorneys to go straight to the federal court if their client was not granted bond or given the opportunity. This is what makes Immigration habeas petitions a very powerful tool.

Three Courts, One Case: How We Build Your Strategy

An immigration detention case may involve three courts in our complicated system. Each court has its own rules, process and types of cases:

• State Criminal Court: Where the State of New Jersey prosecutes criminal charges
• Immigration Court: Where violations of immigration law and deportation proceedings are handled
• Federal District Court: Where an immigration habeas corpus petition can be filed to fight an unlawful detention

What happens in one of these courts can directly affect what is possible in the others. An immigration habeas filing in federal district court, for example, can create critical breathing room in a pending criminal case.

It is important to hire a single attorney who can create a plan that considers all three courts and the various types of cases, rather than multiple attorneys handling each case or one attorney who is experienced in one court but not the others.

This could mean the difference between release, continued detention, or even deportation. Managing that timing takes an attorney who understands it all.

As your New Jersey Immigration Habeas Corpus lawyer, we see the full picture. Founding Attorney Nita Kundanmal has been admitted to practice before:

• The New Jersey District Court
• The Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
• Immigration Courts throughout the United States
• The United States Supreme Court.

Nita Kundanmal has successfully represented clients before USCIS, the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and Federal District Courts. She knows how each proceeding connects to the next. She builds a coordinated strategy between all three cases. Most important is the fact that she fights aggressively and persistently to find any possible way to succeed.

Nita Kundanmal has experience filing emergency Immigration habeas corpus cases and has obtained successful results. Nita Kundanmal is skilled in managing detainees’ criminal and municipal court cases, bond and immigration habeas corpus cases together. She had tremendous success getting the criminal and municipal court cases dismissed, which strengthens the chances of getting an Immigration Judge to grant bond.The dismissal of criminal and municipal cases strengthens the immigration habeas corpus case.

In a recent case, Nita Kundanmal had a municipal court case dismissed outright and then filed an emergency immigration habeas case. When ICE violated the District Court’s
DO NOT TRANSFER order, the Judge ordered ICE to bring the detainee back to New Jersey from Pennsylvania that same day.

In another case, we filed an emergency immigration habeas case. When ICE violated the District Court’s DO NOT TRANSFER order again, the Judge ordered ICE to bring the detainee back to New Jersey from Texas and ICE released our client that same evening.

When Your Loved One Is Facing Both Criminal Charges and Immigration Detention

Many of the cases we handle fall into the area of crimmigration. This refers to the intersection of criminal law and immigration law. A person does not need to be convicted of a crime to be detained by immigration authorities. An arrest or a pending charge can lead to detention and set removal proceedings in motion.

When that happens, the stakes in every court are elevated. A development in the criminal case can accelerate or complicate the immigration matter. Likewise, what happens in the immigration case can affect the criminal matter. An attorney who understands how both systems work together can use each proceeding strategically. Nita Kundanmal strategically develops a comprehensive approach that considers all aspects of your loved one’s circumstances to achieve the strongest possible outcome.

How an Immigration Habeas Corpus Attorney in New Jersey Uses Jurisdiction to Your Advantage

Not all jurisdictions treat immigration detention the same way. Federal district courts in New Jersey have been among the most active in the country in this area. These federal judges are scrutinizing detention claims. In some cases, they are ordering the release of detained individuals. That is an important advantage, but only if your case stays in New Jersey.

One of ICE's most common tactics is transferring detainees to facilities in other states. This means moving cases out of favorable jurisdictions and into courts with far less forgiving track records. The moment we are retained, we work to:

• Locate your loved one
• Determine where they are being held
• Assess the legal basis for their detention
• Take immediate steps to prevent ICE from transferring your loved one out of New Jersey

A New Jersey Immigration Habeas Corpus lawyer who acts without delay can protect your loved one's liberty. Through the immigration habeas corpus process, your lawyer can seek access to a court that will give the situation a fair, thorough review.

What a Successful Immigration Habeas Case Can Accomplish for You

Depending on the circumstances of the case, federal court intervention through the immigration habeas process may:

• Secure your loved one's release from detention
• Force the government to justify the legal basis for continued custody
• Compel the immigration court to conduct a bond hearing within a defined timeframe
• Challenge a detention that has become unreasonably prolonged

Every case is different, and no attorney can promise a specific outcome. What we can promise is that we will pursue every available avenue. We will handle your matter with persistence and attention to detail. And we will not stop until we have exhausted all options.

Your Voice, Your Advocate, Your New Jersey Immigration Habeas Corpus Lawyer

When you cannot be heard, Nita Kundanmal will speak for you. When you do not know what to say, she will speak for you. When the system feels impossible to navigate, she will navigate it alongside you.

The Law Office of Nita Kundanmal, P.C. has been serving clients throughout New Jersey since September 2012. Founding Attorney Nita Kundanmal brings 20 years of legal experience to each case. She understands from personal experience what her clients are going through. Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, of Indian ethnic heritage, Nita is an immigrant herself, as are all members of her staff. The fears, sacrifices, and challenges that define the immigration experience are not abstract to us. They are personal.

When you choose us as your New Jersey Immigration Habeas Corpus lawyer, you work with Attorney Nita Kundanmal. You are not a file number here. We do everything we can to lift our clients' burdens off their shoulders and carry them on ours. We are invested in the outcome of your loved one’s case the way we would be invested in our own family. Your immigration habeas corpus attorney in New Jersey is more than legal representation. Nita Kundanmal is a tireless advocate who will not stop looking for a way forward.

We also provide bilingual, Spanish-speaking legal assistance. Your family is already navigating one of the most difficult experiences of your life. We are here to make legal help more accessible.

Ready to Fight for Your Family? Schedule Your Consultation With an Immigration Habeas Corpus Attorney in New Jersey Today

If your loved one is in immigration detention, time is not on your side. The sooner you act, the more options remain available. Reach out to the Law Office of Nita Kundanmal, P.C. today by phone or through our online contact form to schedule a consultation. Take the first step toward bringing your family back together. We are ready to be your voice, your advocate, and the New Jersey immigration habeas corpus lawyer fighting for you every step of the way.