Bond Refund Lawsuit
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is illegally extracting money from low-income immigrant communities through the immigration bond process.
Bond is a fee families pay to free their loved ones from immigration detention, which ICE is required to refund when the individuals appears at all of their court dates. But we’ve found that ICE has failed to return an estimated $300 million in bond money to immigrant families.
The Immigration Bond System Is Broken
Bonds are usually paid by friends and family and the amounts—usually unaffordable for most—are set by ICE and immigration judges. In 2023, the national media bond was $7,000. If the freed person attends all required court hearings, ICE is supposed to refund the bond. However, in many cases, ICE keeps the money. The unjust and unlawful withholding of these funds—sometimes years after the resolution of cases and fulfillment of all legal obligations—has left thousands of immigrant families grappling with financial instability.
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against ICE
A class action lawsuit was filed on October 29, 2024, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). It seeks to represent people nationwide who paid bonds to ICE and haven’t been repaid, despite the bonded individual meeting all legal obligations. The lawsuit is based on ICE’s widespread breach of contract and aims to recover hundreds of millions of dollars owed to immigrant families.
We don’t yet know the full extent of the problem, but it’s estimated that over $300 million in bond money—belonging mostly to low-income immigrant families—is being illegally withheld by ICE. This lawsuit aims to force ICE to do what it should already be doing: refund bond money.
Join The Lawsuit
This lawsuit is the result of a two-year investigation by Envision Freedom Fund, supported by the Immigration Justice Clinic at Cardozo Law. Two leading law firms with experience in class action lawsuits against the federal government, Gupta Wessler LLP and Motley Rice LLC, are leading the case. If you or someone you know may be part of the class in the EDNY (Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, or Suffolk Counties in New York), please connect with the legal team.
*The lawsuit covers individuals and nonprofit bond funds that paid immigration bonds for people who either were allowed to stay in the U.S. or were deported by ICE, and who haven’t been repaid. The lawsuit doesn’t cover bonds posted by surety companies or bonds for people who, for example, received voluntary departure orders or weren’t physically removed from the U.S.
Demand Freedom With Us
Prioritizing freedom for immigrants whose legal cases are in process keeps families and communities whole, creating stability and safety for everyone. While the lawsuit is a crucial tool to help immigrant families recover their bond money, it won’t fix all the problems in the immigration bond system. That’s why Envision Freedom Fund, in partnership with NYU Law’s Initiative for Community Power, is launching a campaign to fight more more accountability and change.
The goals are to:
– Build political pressure to ensure ICE repays the bond money.
– Demand policy changes at ICE to make bond returns faster and more transparent.
– Advocate for a complete end to the punitive practice of bond, which inflicts financial, emotional, and physical damage on immigrants and their loved ones.
The campaign will collaborate with allies and grassroots groups to work toward these goals and ultimately aim to dismantle the immigration detention system.
To get involved in the campaign, contact Rosa Santana at rsantana@envisionfreedom.org.