A bond hearing answers one question, which is whether an immigration judge will release you while your removal case runs. You carry the burden on danger and flight risk. In Texas, a San Antonio immigration bond lawyer must first prove the judge has authority to set any bond at all.
Faragalla Law is a Texas immigration firm headquartered in Houston. The firm handles removal defense, bond hearings, asylum, and family immigration across the state. Its founding attorney has been a member of the New York Bar since 1998. The team works in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
If a relative is detained in Karnes City or Pearsall, call Faragalla Law at (800) 707-3038 for a case review. The office answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Who Can Even Ask for a Bond Hearing in San Antonio Right Now
The threshold question changed in 2026, and most bond guides online have not caught up. Before a judge weighs a single fact about you, the judge decides whether the law permits bond at all. Faragalla Law takes that fight first, because losing it ends the hearing.
Two statutes can block release. The first is INA Section 236(a), codified at 8 U.S.C. 1226(a). It gives the Attorney General discretion to detain or release, and judges use it in an ordinary bond case. The second is INA Section 235(b)(2)(A), which covers applicants for admission.
The Fifth Circuit Rule That Controls Every Texas Case
San Antonio sits in the Fifth Circuit with the rest of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. What that court says about bond eligibility binds every immigration judge in the state. In 2025 the government began arguing that anyone who entered without inspection is an applicant for admission and so cannot get bond. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons issued guidance to that effect on July 8, 2025.
What Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi Held in February 2026
The Fifth Circuit settled this for Texas on February 6, 2026. In Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, 166 F.4th 494, it held that people present without admission are detained under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(A). That removes the statutory right to a bond hearing, however long the person has lived here. The Board reached the same result in Matter of Q. Li, 29 I&N Dec. 66, decided May 15, 2025.
The Sosnava Rodriguez Rehearing Set for September 2026
A second case may soften that rule. On July 2, 2026, a Fifth Circuit panel held in Sosnava Rodriguez v. Ortega that due process requires a custody hearing once detention passes 90 days. The full court vacated that decision on July 10, 2026. Argument on rehearing is set for September 24, 2026, and until then the panel decision carries no force.
Section 236(c) Mandatory Detention Is a Different Bar
Section 236(c) is the older mandatory detention rule, and it is not the same argument. It reaches people with certain convictions, including most controlled substance offenses, aggravated felonies, and two crimes involving moral turpitude. Someone covered by 236(c) gets no bond hearing on the merits. What they can get is a Joseph hearing, where the only issue is whether ICE charged them correctly.
Where a San Antonio Bond Hearing Is Actually Held
Bond jurisdiction follows the detention facility, not the home address. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 1003.19(c) sends a bond request to the immigration court with jurisdiction over the place of detention. A family on the near West Side may find the hearing is not in the city at all.
That one rule decides which judge you get and how far anyone has to drive. The regulation lets an initial request be made orally, in writing, or by telephone at the judge’s discretion. Any later request must be written and must show materially changed circumstances.
The Immigration Court at 800 Dolorosa Street
EOIR lists one San Antonio Immigration Court, at 800 Dolorosa Street, Suite 300, in ZIP code 78207. Public hours and window filing hours both run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. The Bexar County Courthouse stands a few blocks east on the same street at 100 Dolorosa. People confuse the two constantly, and arriving at the wrong one can cost a hearing.
Which Court Hears Cases From Which Detention Center
Two ICE facilities south of the city hold most of the people whose families call about bond here. They do not route to the same court, and that surprises almost everyone. One has an immigration court inside the building. The other has no court at all, so its cases land on the San Antonio docket. Knowing which is which changes where you file.
The South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall
Pearsall is the seat of Frio County, about 55 miles southwest of the city on Interstate 35. The GEO Group runs the South Texas ICE Processing Center there, with room for 1,904 people. EOIR operates a separate Pearsall Immigration Court inside it at 566 Veterans Drive. A bond request for someone held there goes to that court.
The Karnes County Immigration Processing Center
Karnes City is the seat of Karnes County, 50 miles southeast, where U.S. Highway 181 meets State Highways 80 and 123. The facility sits at 409 FM 1144. EOIR lists no immigration court in Karnes City, so those bond cases reach San Antonio judges. The ICE San Antonio Field Office holds custody authority over both sites.
How a San Antonio Immigration Bond Lawyer Prepares the Guerra Factors
Once the judge has authority to set bond, the case turns on evidence. The Board set out the framework in Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37, decided in 2006. Under Matter of Adeniji, 22 I&N Dec. 1102, the burden sits on the detained person. You have to show that you are not a danger and not a flight risk.
Guerra lists nine factors and gives the judge broad discretion in weighing them. The packet gets built around those factors rather than around sympathy. Removal defense work and bond work run on the same record.
The Danger Question Comes First
A judge who finds you dangerous denies bond outright and never reaches flight risk. Guerra points the judge to the criminal record, its extensiveness, its recency, and its seriousness. Order certified dispositions from the Bexar County District Clerk before the hearing, because a continuance to chase records costs weeks in detention. Document any rehabilitation with completion certificates and proof of payment on fines.
The Flight Risk Question
Flight risk is the second half of the analysis, and it is where most bond cases are won. The judge is predicting one thing, which is whether you will appear at every future hearing. Everything that ties you to this area helps that prediction. Everything that suggests you can disappear hurts it. The proof is documentary, and it has to be organized before the hearing.
A Fixed Address and Length of Residence
The first Guerra factor is whether you have a fixed address in the United States. The second is how long you have lived here. Both are provable on paper, and both are commonly proved badly. A family that arrives with one utility bill has left most of the argument on the table.
Documents That Prove Where You Live in Bexar County
A lease with your name on it beats a utility bill. Property tax statements from the Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector are stronger still. Add a notarized letter from your host, plus their identification and proof of address. Three consistent documents beat one strong one.
What Counts as Proof of Time in the United States
Length of residence is proved with a paper trail across years. School records, tax transcripts, medical records, and pay stubs all date themselves. Pull the oldest documents you can find, because the judge measures years and not months. A gap invites the government to argue you left and returned.
Court Appearance History and Manner of Entry
Guerra also asks about your record of appearance in court and your manner of entry. A prior failure to appear is the hardest single fact to overcome. If you missed a hearing, explain why and bring proof, such as a hospital record. Manner of entry cuts against most people here.
What the Hearing Itself Looks Like
A bond hearing is short. Most run 15 to 30 minutes, and many finish sooner. The judge has read the filings, so the hearing is argument rather than a trial. A government attorney from the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor appears and opposes release.
The detained person often appears by video from Pearsall or Karnes City. Your lawyer speaks first and frames the Guerra factors against the packet already filed. Answer any question from the bench briefly and truthfully. One rule protects you, because 8 C.F.R. 1003.19(d) keeps the bond record separate from the removal case.
How a Judge Sets the Amount and How the Money Gets Paid
Two agencies handle the two halves of this. The immigration judge sets the number. ICE takes the money. Families routinely try to pay at the courthouse and get turned away. That trip wastes a day.
No published schedule governs the amount. Bond figures commonly fall between $5,000 and $20,000, though nothing binds the judge to that range. A person with a fixed address, long residence, a clean record, and a pending application for relief has the best shot at the low end. A pending asylum application is one of the equities judges weigh.
The $1,500 Statutory Floor
Section 236(a)(2)(A) permits release on “bond of at least $1,500 with security approved by, and containing conditions prescribed by, the Attorney General.” That figure is a floor and not a target. Congress set it in 1996 and never indexed it, so a $1,500 bond is rare. Judges move above it based on the Guerra analysis and on what it takes to secure your appearance.
Bond Is Paid to ICE and Not to the Immigration Court
The immigration court collects nothing. Payment goes to ICE, and since April 20, 2023, ICE has processed bond payments through CeBONDS, its web-based system. The San Antonio Field Office handles the custody side for people held at Karnes City and Pearsall. Plan for release to take hours after payment clears rather than minutes. Ask the field office when it stops processing releases each day.
Who Can Serve as the Obligor
ICE limits who may post a bond. A United States citizen, a lawful permanent resident, a law firm, or a nonprofit organization may serve as the obligor. A noncitizen may serve only on a voluntary departure bond or an order of supervision bond. Each category carries its own paperwork.
Form I-352 and the CeBONDS System
Form I-352 is the bond contract. It obligates the obligor to produce the person whenever ICE demands. CeBONDS verifies the bond information, then accepts payment by Fedwire or ACH only. Cash, cards, and money orders are not options. Keep the receipt, because ICE returns the principal if every appearance was made.
What Happens After the Judge Rules
The decision is not always the end. Either side can appeal a bond decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. That appeal is separate from the removal case and runs on its own clock.
Losing a bond hearing does not lock the door for good. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 1003.19(e) permits a later request when circumstances have changed materially since the prior redetermination. New relief filed, a conviction vacated, or a sponsor who has now come forward can all qualify. The firm’s immigration learning hub explains how those filings connect.
Appealing to the Board of Immigration Appeals
A bond appeal is filed on Form EOIR-26 within 30 days of the judge’s decision. The Board reviews factual findings for clear error and reviews legal questions fresh. Ask the judge for the written bond memorandum, because the appeal argues against that reasoning. Bond appeals are decided on the papers, and oral argument is rare. Filing the appeal does not by itself get anyone released.
The DHS Automatic Stay That Keeps You Detained
There is a trap on the government’s side of the appeal. Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.19(i)(2), if DHS set no bond or set a bond of $10,000 or more, DHS can freeze a release order. It files Form EOIR-43 within one business day, and the release is stayed while the Board decides. A family can win, wire the money, and still find the person detained.
Questions San Antonio Families Ask About Immigration Bond
These come up in nearly every first call about a detained relative. The answers below are general, and the Fifth Circuit rule described above changes several of them for anyone who entered without inspection. Read them with that in mind.
A general answer is a starting point and not a plan. Anyone in that posture needs the eligibility question answered on their own facts first, because it decides whether the rest of the analysis applies. Have the alien registration number and the facility name ready before you call anyone about a bond.
Can My Family Post Bond if I Entered Without Inspection?
Under Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, decided February 6, 2026, the Fifth Circuit treats people present without admission as subject to mandatory detention. No immigration judge in Texas can set bond in that posture right now. Release runs through an ICE parole request or a habeas petition in federal district court.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Bond Hearing Date?
A bond request can be made orally at a master calendar hearing or filed in writing at the court with jurisdiction over the facility. Hearings are often set within one to three weeks once the packet is ready. The delay is almost always the evidence and not the docket.
Does Paying Bond Mean My Deportation Case Is Over?
No. Bond decides only where you wait. The removal case continues on the non-detained docket, which moves far more slowly. Missing a single hearing there can produce an in absentia removal order and a breached bond.
What Happens if the Judge Denies Bond?
You can appeal to the Board on Form EOIR-26 within 30 days. You can also ask the same judge for a new hearing if your circumstances change materially. A vacated conviction, a newly filed application for relief, or a new sponsor can all count.
Can I Ask for a Lower Bond Later?
Yes, but not simply because the amount is unaffordable. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 1003.19(e) requires a written request showing that your circumstances changed materially since the last decision. Inability to pay, standing alone, is not a change in circumstances.
Talk to a San Antonio Immigration Bond Lawyer Today
The eligibility question moved twice in 2026, and it may move again when the Fifth Circuit rules en banc. Any bond article written before February of this year is working from outdated law. A San Antonio immigration bond lawyer starts by finding out which statute holds your relative.
Faragalla Law is a Texas immigration firm headquartered in Houston, serving families with relatives at Karnes City and Pearsall. The firm handles bond hearings, removal defense, asylum, and the full range of immigration matters. The team works in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
Have the alien registration number, the facility name, and the disposition for every arrest ready. Those three items show quickly whether bond is on the table.
Call Faragalla Law at (800) 707-3038 for a case review, or reach the office through the contact page.