How Are Immigration Bonds Different From Regular Bail Bonds? A California Guide

Quick answer: An immigration bond and a regular bail bond both pay for someone’s release while a case continues, but they belong to two separate systems. Regular bail in California is part of a criminal case. A county bail schedule or a California judge sets the amount, and it is posted with the jail or court, often through a licensed bail agent. An immigration bond belongs to a civil federal case about whether a noncitizen may stay in the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sets it first, an immigration judge can review it, federal law sets a floor of $1,500 under 8 U.S.C. 1226(a), and it is paid to ICE by an eligible obligor, such as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, during ICE’s weekday posting hours. Posting one never satisfies the other. A person with both a criminal case and an immigration case can need two separate releases, and paying one bond does not end either case. Some people cannot get an immigration bond at all because federal law requires their detention, and the rules on who qualifies for a bond hearing changed more than once in 2025 and 2026. If your relative is in ICE custody, talk to an immigration lawyer before you pay anyone.

Updated September 2026. Written for California families whose loved one is in immigration detention, is in a county jail with an immigration hold, or is out on criminal bail and worried about ICE. Checked on September 28, 2026 against federal immigration statutes and regulations, ICE’s bond page, the immigration court practice manual, Board of Immigration Appeals decisions through July 2026, the Ninth Circuit’s July 30, 2026 decision in Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock, and the California Penal and Government Codes. General information, not legal advice.

If you are still trying to find out where someone is held, start with our California inmate locator guide, which explains ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System alongside county, state and federal searches. For San Diego County, our guide to San Diego detention centers covers the Otay Mesa immigration facility. For a plain list of release labels (cash, surety, O.R., federal and immigration), see our guide to bail bond classifications. This guide answers a narrower question: how the two kinds of bond actually differ, and what that means for the family paying or signing.

Immigration Bonds and Bail Bonds at a Glance

In this guide: Two separate systems | California bail basics | How an immigration bond works | Who cannot get a bond | Paying ICE | Breach and refunds | ICE holds in county jail | ICE detains someone out on bail | Misunderstandings | Examples | Checklist | How Bail Hotline can help | FAQ | Sources

Two Separate Systems, Two Separate Releases

The most important difference is not the price or the paperwork. It is that the two bonds answer to different governments and to different kinds of cases.

A California bail bond belongs to a criminal case. The State of California has charged, or may charge, someone with a crime, and bail secures that person’s return to a California courtroom. A county sheriff or city police department holds the person, and a California superior court controls bail.

An immigration bond belongs to a removal case: the federal government’s process for deciding whether a noncitizen may stay in the United States. That process is civil. In Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), the U.S. Supreme Court wrote: “The proceedings at issue here are civil, not criminal, and we assume that they are nonpunitive in purpose and effect.” ICE holds the person, and the judges who review immigration custody sit in federal immigration courts run by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), not in California’s courts.

Because the systems are separate, several practical rules follow:

• Paying criminal bail does not release someone from ICE custody. A California bail bond only answers the California charge.
• An immigration bond does not satisfy a criminal case. If the same person also has a California charge, that case keeps its own court dates and its own bail.
• Each system uses its own identifiers. The criminal side runs on a booking number and a court case number. The immigration side runs on the A-number, which EOIR’s case information page describes as a number that “begins with the letter A and is followed by an 8- or 9-digit number.”
• Each system has its own deadlines and consequences. Missing a criminal court date can forfeit bail. Missing an immigration hearing can breach an immigration bond and can lead to a removal order.

A person can be in both systems at once. That usually happens in one of two ways: someone arrested on a California charge also has an immigration issue ICE learns about, or someone already out on California bail is later detained by ICE. Both situations have their own sections below, because that is where it is easiest to pay for the wrong thing or miss a deadline.

How Regular Bail Works in a California Criminal Case

This section is short on purpose, because our other guides cover California bail in depth. What matters here is the contrast.

The amount starts with a schedule. Penal Code 1269b(c) says: “It is the duty of the superior court judges in each county to prepare, adopt, and annually revise a uniform countywide schedule of bail for all bailable felony offenses and for all misdemeanor and infraction offenses except Vehicle Code infractions.” Once the defendant has appeared before a judge on the charge, “the bail shall be in the amount fixed by the judge at the time of the appearance” (Penal Code 1269b(b)).

A judge weighs public safety first. Under Penal Code 1275(a)(1), a judge setting, reducing or denying bail “shall take into consideration the protection of the public, the seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the defendant, and the probability of his or her appearing at trial or at a hearing of the case. The public safety shall be the primary consideration.” In In re Humphrey (March 25, 2021), the California Supreme Court added: “Where a financial condition is nonetheless necessary, the court must consider the arrestee’s ability to pay the stated amount of bail.”

Almost anyone can pay. Penal Code 1295(a) allows “The defendant, or any other person” to deposit cash bail. Families can instead use a bail bond, posted by a licensed bail agent and backed by an insurance company. Our guides to cash bonds versus surety bonds, what you need to get a bail bond and what it costs to bail someone out walk through that process.

A defendant who cannot afford a lawyer gets one. Under Penal Code 987(a), “If the defendant desires and is unable to employ counsel the court shall assign counsel to defend them.” Immigration court has no matching guarantee. Under 8 U.S.C. 1362, representation there is “at no expense to the Government.”

Missing court puts the bail at risk. If the defendant does not appear, the court can declare bail forfeited under Penal Code 1305. Our guide to bail bond forfeiture covers the notice, the time limits and how a forfeiture can be set aside.

How an Immigration Bond Works

ICE makes the first custody decision

The federal statute is 8 U.S.C. 1226(a). After a noncitizen is arrested on an immigration warrant, the government “may continue to detain the arrested alien” or may release the person on a “bond of at least $1,500 with security approved by, and containing conditions prescribed by, the Attorney General,” or on “conditional parole.” The statute still names the Attorney General, but in practice the first decision comes from ICE. The immigration court’s practice manual puts it simply: “Initially, the bond is set by DHS.”

There is no bail schedule for immigration bonds. The statute sets a floor, not a price list, and the amount turns on the individual person. The same statute also lets the government take the release back: “The Attorney General at any time may revoke a bond or parole authorized under subsection (a), rearrest the alien under the original warrant, and detain the alien” (8 U.S.C. 1226(b)).

An immigration judge can review that decision

If ICE refuses bond or sets an amount the family cannot pay, the detained person can ask an immigration judge to review it. The regulation, 8 CFR 1236.1(d)(1), authorizes the judge, after ICE’s initial decision and before a final order, to “detain the alien in custody, release the alien, and determine the amount of bond.” That review is often called a bond hearing or a custody redetermination.

• Where it is filed. Under 8 CFR 1003.19(c), a detained person applies first to “the Immigration Court having jurisdiction over the place of detention.”
• How it is requested. The practice manual says, “A request for a bond hearing may be made in writing.” It adds that, with some exceptions, a request may also be made orally in court or, at the judge’s discretion, by telephone.
• It is a separate proceeding. The regulation says the bond decision “shall be separate and apart from, and shall form no part of, any deportation or removal hearing or proceeding.” The manual says the same thing more plainly: “Bond proceedings are separate from removal proceedings.” Winning a bond hearing does not decide the removal case, and losing one does not end it.
• The evidence can be broad. The judge’s decision “may be based upon any information that is available to the Immigration Judge or that is presented to him or her by the alien or the Service” (8 CFR 1003.19(d)).

What the immigration judge weighs

The regulation that governs ICE’s own release decision, 8 CFR 1236.1(c)(8), says the person “must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the officer that such release would not pose a danger to property or persons, and that the alien is likely to appear for any future proceeding.” At a bond hearing, the practice manual says, “the immigration judge considers whether respondent’s release would pose a danger to property or persons, whether the respondent is likely to appear for further immigration proceedings, and whether the respondent is a threat to national security.” In practice, the detained person and their lawyer should come ready to answer all of those questions with evidence.

The Board of Immigration Appeals listed factors a judge may consider in Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006). In plain terms, they are:

• whether the person has a fixed address in the United States;
• how long the person has lived here;
• family ties in the United States, and whether they may allow the person to stay permanently in the future;
• employment history;
• the record of appearing in court;
• the criminal record, including how extensive, how recent and how serious it is;
• the history of immigration violations;
• any attempt to flee prosecution or escape authorities; and
• the manner of entry to the United States.

The Board added: “The Immigration Judge may choose to give greater weight to one factor over others, as long as the decision is reasonable.” That is why two people with similar backgrounds can get different results.

The Board has tightened how flight risk is judged. In Matter of A-L-S-, 29 I&N Dec. 794 (BIA 2026), decided July 28, 2026, it held: “Inherent in the concept of flight risk is not only whether the alien will appear at future hearings before the Immigration Judge, but also whether the alien is likely to comply with future orders of the Immigration Judge.” It also held: “Speculative future eligibility for relief based upon conjecture or hypothetical future events does not materially diminish flight risk.” In that case the Board sustained ICE’s appeal and vacated a judge’s order releasing the person on a $7,500 bond.

Two 2025 Board decisions point the same way. The Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) summarizes Matter of Dobrotvorskii as vacating a bond grant for lack of adequate sponsorship evidence, such as a sponsor’s letter, and Matter of Akhmedov as vacating a bond grant over inconsistent address reporting and late change-of-address filings. The practical lesson for families is concrete: a sponsor’s letter, proof of a stable address, and consistent records carry weight. Promises about what might happen later carry much less.

After the hearing: second requests and appeals

• A second request needs something new. Under 8 CFR 1003.19(e), a later bond request must be in writing and “shall be considered only upon a showing that the alien’s circumstances have changed materially since the prior bond redetermination.”
• Either side can appeal, and the clock is short. The practice manual says, “Either party may appeal the immigration judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.” As amended in February 2026 (91 FR 5278), 8 CFR 1003.38(b)(1) generally requires the notice of appeal (Form EOIR-26) to be filed with the Board “within 10 calendar days of the Immigration Judge’s decision.” Deadlines like this change, so confirm the current one with a lawyer the day of the decision.

Three kinds of immigration bonds

ICE’s bond page defines an immigration bond as “a guaranty by the person who posts the bond (the obligor) that the noncitizen will fulfill the noncitizen’s obligations to the government.” It describes three kinds:

Release can also come with reporting and monitoring conditions. ICE says its Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program “exists to ensure compliance with release conditions and provides important case management services for non-detained aliens.” ICE lists telephone reporting, body-worn GPS monitoring by ankle bracelet or wrist-worn device, and a smartphone check-in app called SmartLINK among its tools.

Who Cannot Get an Immigration Bond

Criminal bail in California can be denied in some cases, as our guide to being denied bail explains. Immigration law goes further: some groups are held without any bond hearing at all.

Mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. 1226(c)

Federal law requires ICE to detain several groups, including people who are inadmissible or deportable on listed criminal grounds. In January 2025 the Laken Riley Act (Pub. L. 119-1) added a new category, 8 U.S.C. 1226(c)(1)(E). It covers a person who is inadmissible on certain grounds, including being present “without admission or parole,” misrepresentation, or lacking required documents (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A), (6)(C) and (7)), and who:

“is charged with, is arrested for, is convicted of, admits having committed, or admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of any burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, or assault of a law enforcement officer offense, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person”

Two details matter for California families. First, the statute reaches people who are only arrested for or charged with those offenses, not just those convicted. Second, subsection (c)(2) says those offense terms “have the meanings given such terms in the jurisdiction in which the acts occurred,” which means California’s definitions apply to acts in California. A California shoplifting or theft arrest can therefore have immigration custody consequences far larger than the criminal charge itself. Anyone in that position should make sure the criminal defense lawyer knows the person’s immigration status.

People immigration judges cannot give bond to

The practice manual lists groups over whom immigration judges have no bond jurisdiction, including people in exclusion proceedings, “arriving aliens” in removal proceedings, and people ineligible for release on security or certain criminal grounds.

The 2025 to 2026 fight over people who entered without inspection

The biggest recent change involves people who entered the United States without inspection and were later arrested inside the country. In September 2025, in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025), the Board of Immigration Appeals treated those people as subject to mandatory detention under a different statute, 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(A). CLINIC’s summary puts the result this way: “IJs lack authority to hear bond requests or grant bond to noncitizens who are present in the United States without inspection and admission.”

Federal courts whose rulings reach California have pushed back. In Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock, decided July 30, 2026 in an appeal from the Western District of Washington, the Ninth Circuit, whose rulings bind federal courts in California, concluded “that aliens present without admission who are apprehended in the interior of the United States are subject to the detention regime of § 1226, not § 1225(b)(2)(A).” The opinion describes detention under section 1226(a) as “discretionary, allowing the release of aliens on bond pending their removal proceedings.” That bond route still does not reach someone who falls in a mandatory detention category under 1226(c). Judge Bress wrote the opinion, and Judge Bea dissented.

A related class case from the Central District of California, Maldonado Bautista v. Santacruz, produced a December 18, 2025 judgment for a “Bond Eligible Class” and a February 18, 2026 order vacating Matter of Yajure Hurtado. According to the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, on March 31, 2026 the Ninth Circuit stayed the district court’s orders insofar as they extend beyond the Central District of California, leaving the December 18, 2025 judgment in place within that district.

Other courts of appeals have split. A September 11, 2026 CLINIC summary reports that most circuits to decide the question have rejected the government’s position, while the Fifth and Eighth Circuits upheld mandatory detention, and that petitions asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the question have been filed.

For a California family, the practical point is this: whether your relative can even ask for a bond may depend on how and where they entered, where they were arrested, where they are detained, and the state of the law on the day of the hearing. This is a question for an immigration lawyer, not a bond company.

Paying an Immigration Bond: Who Can Pay, How and When

Paying a California bail bond and paying an immigration bond feel similar only until you try to do it. The rules below come from ICE’s bond page, opened September 28, 2026.

Who can be the obligor

The obligor is the person or organization that posts the bond and makes the promise. ICE lists eligible obligors as “U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms, and non-profit organizations.” ICE also says a noncitizen may post a voluntary departure bond or an order of supervision bond on their own behalf.

This is one of the sharpest differences from criminal bail. In California, “The defendant, or any other person” can deposit cash bail. For a delivery bond, ICE’s list does not include a relative who is neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident. Settle who will be the obligor before the money is gathered.

ICE also lists the identification it accepts. For a U.S. citizen, the list includes a U.S. passport, a U.S. birth certificate, a naturalization certificate, a REAL ID driver’s license or state ID card, or a military ID. For a lawful permanent resident, it is a Permanent Resident Card or a military ID. Check the current list before you go, because an ordinary driver’s license that is not a REAL ID card is not on it.

How the money moves

ICE’s page is direct: “Bond payments must be made via Fedwire or Automated Clearing House (ACH) to post an immigration bond.” Bonds are posted through ICE’s online system, CeBONDS, and ICE says it works case by case with obligors who walk into an ICE office. That means a bank transfer, not cash handed across a counter at a jail.

For people who cannot do that, ICE says: “Obligors without access to banking services may use an immigration bond company to post a bond.” ICE also points to community-based organizations that help with immigration bonds.

When the money can be posted

ICE lists bond posting hours as Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding government holidays, applied in the time zone where the person is detained. Compare that with California criminal bail, where timing depends on the jail and bail agents can work nights and weekends. Our guide to getting bailed out on the weekend explains how weekend timing works on the criminal side. An immigration bond decided on a Friday afternoon may not be payable until the next business day.

Using an immigration bond company

An immigration surety bond is backed by a surety company rather than by the obligor’s own cash. Federal regulation limits who can stand behind it: “Immigration bonds may be posted by a company holding a certificate from the Secretary of the Treasury under 31 U.S.C. 9304-9308” (8 CFR 103.6(b)). The Treasury Department publishes that roster. Its surety bond page says, “The Department Circular 570 offers a complete list of companies that write or reinsure federal bonds,” and showed an edition updated August 1, 2026 when we checked.

Before you sign with any company, ask these questions and get the answers in writing:

1. Which insurance company is the surety, and is it on Treasury’s list?
2. What is the total cost, what is it for, and is any part refundable?
3. Is collateral required, and exactly when and how is it returned?
4. Are there monitoring requirements, such as a GPS device, and who pays for them?
5. What happens to your money and collateral when ICE cancels the bond, or if the bond is breached?
6. Will you get a complete copy of everything you sign, in a language you read well?

A trustworthy company will answer all six without pressure. Be wary of anyone who asks you to pay before telling you which surety backs the bond.

What the Obligor Promises, and How the Money Comes Back

The promise

For a delivery bond, the obligor promises to produce the person when ICE demands it. ICE’s page names the form that makes the demand: the Notice to Obligor to Deliver Alien (Form I-340). If that notice arrives, treat its date and place as fixed. Keep copies of the bond form, ICE Form I-352, and make sure ICE can reach you, because the delivery notice is addressed to the obligor.

Breach

Under 8 CFR 103.6(e), “A bond is breached when there has been a substantial violation of the stipulated conditions.” ICE sends the obligor a breach notice (Form I-323). ICE’s page explains the cost: “When a bond is breached, the obligor forfeits the bond deposit to the government. However, when an obligor breaches a cash bond ICE will still refund to the obligor the interest that has accrued on the cash deposit.”

Missing an immigration hearing is also dangerous for the person released. Under 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5)(A), a noncitizen who received the required written notice and does not attend “shall be ordered removed in absentia if the Service establishes by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that the written notice was so provided and that the alien is removable.” To check hearing dates, EOIR says, “Users can dial 1-800-898-7180 (toll-free) to obtain case status information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week” (EOIR case information).

Cancellation and getting the money back

According to ICE, an immigration bond stays in effect until ICE issues its bond cancellation notice, Form I-391. That notice is the document that closes out the obligor’s promise, so keep it with your bond papers. Winning the case, losing the case and leaving the country each end the removal case in different ways, and the bond is not closed until ICE issues the cancellation notice.

On the criminal side, the rules for getting money back are different again. Cash bail deposited with a California court is handled under state law when the case ends, and the fee paid to a bail agent is a separate matter. Our guides to whether you get bail money back and what happens to bail money if charges are dropped cover California’s rules.

When the Two Systems Meet: County Jails, ICE Holds and California Law

This is where most confusion happens. Someone is arrested on a California charge, the family hears there is an “ICE hold,” and nobody is sure whether posting criminal bail will bring the person home or deliver them to ICE.

What an ICE hold is

ICE can send a local jail a request about a person in custody. California law speaks of three kinds: a “hold” request (keep the person), a “notification” request (tell ICE before release), and a “transfer” request (hand the person to ICE). A request from ICE is not a California court order.

What California law lets jails do

The California Values Act, Government Code 7284.6, limits how California law enforcement agencies help with immigration enforcement. Among other things, it bars:

• “Detaining an individual on the basis of a hold request.”
• Giving out release dates or answering notification requests, unless the information is public or the request fits the exceptions in Government Code 7282.5. Even then, the statute says: “Responses are never required, but are permitted under this subdivision, provided that they do not violate any local law or policy.”
• Transferring a person to immigration authorities “unless authorized by a judicial warrant or judicial probable cause determination, or in accordance with Section 7282.5.”

Government Code 7282.5 is the exceptions list. It gives law enforcement “discretion to cooperate with immigration authorities only if doing so would not violate any federal, state, or local law, or local policy,” and it allows release-date notifications and transfers only for people who fit listed categories. Those include people convicted of a serious or violent felony, people convicted of a felony punishable by state prison, and people with certain listed convictions within set time periods, among others. A separate subdivision allows a release-date notification, but not a transfer, for a person charged with a serious or violent felony or a felony punishable by state prison after a magistrate finds probable cause on that charge. None of these categories lets a jail keep someone in custody on an ICE hold request alone.

Two cautions keep this accurate. First, even where cooperation is allowed, it is discretionary, and county policies differ. Second, these rules govern California agencies. They do not control what ICE itself does after a person leaves the jail.

Rights under the TRUTH Act

California’s TRUTH Act, Government Code 7283.1, gives people in local custody specific notice rights:

• Before any ICE interview about civil immigration violations, the jail must provide a written consent form explaining “that the interview is voluntary, and that the individual may decline to be interviewed or may choose to be interviewed only with the individual’s attorney present.”
• “Upon receiving any ICE hold, notification, or transfer request, the local law enforcement agency shall provide a copy of the request to the individual and inform the individual whether the law enforcement agency intends to comply with the request.”
• If the agency tells ICE about a release date, it “shall promptly provide the same notification in writing to the individual and to the individual’s attorney or to one additional person who the individual shall be permitted to designate.”

That last right is valuable for families. If your relative designates you, the agency must promptly send you, in writing, any release-date notice it gives ICE.

Should the family post criminal bail if there is an ICE request?

There is no single right answer, and anyone who promises one is guessing. These are the questions to settle first, ideally with both a criminal defense lawyer and an immigration lawyer:

1. Is there actually an ICE request on file? Under the TRUTH Act, your relative should receive a copy and be told whether the jail intends to comply.
2. Does your relative fall within Government Code 7282.5? Either way, a California jail may not keep someone in custody on an ICE hold request alone. If your relative is outside 7282.5, the jail also should not notify ICE of a nonpublic release date or transfer them without a judicial warrant or judicial probable cause determination. If your relative is inside it, a notification, and in some categories a transfer, is possible, depending on county policy.
3. Would mandatory detention apply if ICE took custody? Under 8 U.S.C. 1226(c), including the Laken Riley Act category, some people would be held without bond. That changes what leaving county custody could mean.
4. Who will keep the California case on track? Even if ICE takes custody, the criminal case continues. The next section explains what that means for the bail bond and the cosigner.

Nothing in this section is a reason to leave a loved one in jail without advice. It is a reason to get the right advice quickly.

If Someone Out on California Bail Is Detained by ICE

This scenario worries cosigners most. A person is released on a California bail bond, goes home, and is later detained by ICE before the next court date.

The criminal case does not pause on its own. If the defendant misses a California court date, the court can declare bail forfeited, and the clock that governs the bond starts running. Our bail bond forfeiture guide and our guide to bail bond reinstatement explain that process.

California law expressly addresses detention by other authorities. Penal Code 1305 contains three provisions that can matter when a defendant is in immigration custody or has been removed:

• Permanent inability to appear, subdivision (d). A court “shall direct the order of forfeiture to be vacated” when it is shown, within the statute’s time limit, that “The defendant is deceased or otherwise permanently unable to appear in the court due to illness, insanity, or detention by military or civil authorities,” and that “The absence of the defendant is without the connivance of the bail.”
• Temporary inability to appear, subdivision (e). A court “shall order the tolling of the 180-day period” when “The defendant is temporarily disabled by reason of illness, insanity, or detention by military or civil authorities,” the disability keeps the defendant from appearing during the rest of that period, and the absence is without the connivance of the bail.
• Custody outside the court’s reach, subdivision (f). When a defendant “is in custody beyond the jurisdiction of the court that ordered the bail forfeited, and the prosecuting agency elects not to seek extradition after being informed of the location of the defendant,” the court “shall vacate the forfeiture and exonerate the bond on terms that are just.”

Courts apply these rules to specific facts. In the published case People v. American Surety Ins. Co. (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1063, a defendant released on bail was deported by federal immigration authorities before his preliminary hearing. The Court of Appeal reversed the order refusing to vacate the forfeiture, explaining: “He was not only ordered to leave the country, he was physically escorted across the border by federal agents. Federal statutes prevent both his voluntary return, and his forced return by Surety.” The bond was exonerated. The court stressed that the defendant was physically removed and legally barred from returning, and the record showed the surety had no reason to suspect the deportation. Different facts can lead to a different result.

What cosigners should do right away:

1. Tell the bail agent the same day you learn of the ICE detention. Give the facility name, the A-number if you have it, and any ICE paperwork.
2. Tell the criminal defense lawyer, who can raise the detention with the court before a date is missed.
3. Keep proof: locator results, letters from ICE or the facility, and immigration court notices.
4. Keep every date on both calendars, criminal and immigration.

Bail agents cannot be used for immigration enforcement. Penal Code 1299.07(f) says a person authorized to apprehend a bail fugitive “shall not use that position for the purposes of immigration enforcement, except pursuant to a valid judicial warrant or court order.” Subdivision (g) bars that person from disclosing a bail fugitive’s personally identifiable information “for purposes of immigration enforcement” on the same terms. Our guide to what bail enforcement agents can do covers the rest of those rules.

Common Misunderstandings About Immigration Bonds

Each of these mix-ups can cost a family time or money.

• “Immigration bonds come in the same forms as criminal release.” Citation release, own-recognizance release, cash bail and surety bail bonds are California criminal-case concepts. ICE’s bond types are delivery, voluntary departure and order of supervision bonds.
• “An immigration bond means the person committed a crime.” Immigration detention is civil. A person can be in removal proceedings with no criminal case at all, although a criminal record can affect bond eligibility and the judge’s decision.
• “Paying the bond ends the case.” The bond secures the person’s appearance and compliance. The removal case continues until an immigration judge decides it.
• “Anyone in the family can pay.” ICE’s list of eligible obligors is limited to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms and nonprofit organizations, with narrow exceptions for a noncitizen’s own voluntary departure or supervision bond.
• “We can pay it tonight.” ICE’s posting hours are weekday business hours in the detention time zone.
• “The bond hearing decides whether they can stay.” By regulation, the bond decision is “separate and apart from” the removal hearing.
• “No criminal record means bond is certain.” Mandatory detention rules, flight-risk findings and the judge’s discretion all still apply.
• “Bond money always comes back.” A breached bond forfeits the deposit, although ICE still refunds accrued interest on a cash bond.
• “Posting criminal bail sends someone with an ICE hold straight home.” California law bars jails from keeping someone on an ICE hold request alone, but it allows release-date notifications and transfers in listed cases, and ICE can act on its own after release.

How This Plays Out: Four Hypothetical Examples

These examples are hypothetical. They are composites built to show how the rules interact, not real cases, and none predicts the result in any real case.

Hypothetical 1: An ICE arrest with no criminal case

A man in Los Angeles County with no criminal record is arrested by ICE. His family finds him through ICE’s online locator and writes down his A-number. ICE does not release him. His immigration lawyer asks the immigration court with jurisdiction over his place of detention for a bond hearing. Before the hearing, the family collects a signed lease, a letter from his employer, proof of his children’s school enrollment and a sponsor letter from his sister, a U.S. citizen. Whether he can get a hearing at all depends on how he entered and on the law in the Ninth Circuit at that moment. If the judge sets a bond, his sister, as obligor, pays it by bank transfer on a weekday before 3 p.m. Pacific time and keeps a full copy of Form I-352. Two years later, after the case ends, she keeps watching for Form I-391, because the bond is not closed until ICE cancels it.

Hypothetical 2: A county arrest with an ICE request

A woman is arrested in Riverside County on a misdemeanor theft charge. She has no prior convictions. The jail receives an ICE request and, as the TRUTH Act requires, gives her a copy and says whether it intends to comply. The Values Act bars the jail from holding her on the request. Because she does not appear to fit the categories in Government Code 7282.5, it also bars the jail from giving ICE a nonpublic release date or transferring her without a judicial warrant or judicial probable cause determination. Her family posts criminal bail through a bail agent. Her immigration lawyer then points out a separate risk: if she entered without inspection and ICE later takes custody, the Laken Riley Act category for people arrested for or charged with theft could make her detention mandatory, with no bond. The family keeps both lawyers informed and keeps every California court date.

Hypothetical 3: Out on a California bail bond, then detained by ICE

A man is out on a California bail bond for a felony charge in Fresno County. Two weeks before his next court date, ICE detains him and moves him to a detention facility. His cosigner calls the bail agent that day with the facility name and A-number, and calls his defense lawyer. The lawyer tells the court about the detention before the hearing. If he misses the date and bail is forfeited, the surety can ask the court to toll the time limit under Penal Code 1305(e) while he is detained. If he is later removed, subdivision (d) or (f) may apply, depending on the facts. The court, not the bail agent or the family, decides.

Hypothetical 4: A voluntary departure bond

At the end of a removal case in San Diego, an immigration judge grants a woman voluntary departure and requires a bond. By regulation it is at least $500 and must be posted with the ICE Field Office Director within five business days of the judge’s order. Her husband, a lawful permanent resident, posts it on the second business day. After she leaves, he gives ICE the proof of departure it requires and keeps a copy. The five-day deadline mattered most: the regulation attaches serious consequences to a bond that is not posted on time.

What Families Should Do: A Practical Checklist

1. Confirm who is holding the person. A county jail, a state prison, a federal facility and an ICE detention facility each use different searches. Our California inmate locator guide walks through each one, and USA.gov explains that ICE’s locator accepts either the person’s name, country of birth and birth date, or the A-number.
2. Write down every identifier. Keep the booking number, the criminal case number, the A-number and the facility name together on one page.
3. Get the right lawyer for each case. In the criminal case, ask for the public defender if the person cannot afford a lawyer. In immigration court there is no appointed lawyer, so start early. EOIR’s find legal representation page links to its list of pro bono legal service providers.
4. Ask whether ICE has sent the jail a request. Under the TRUTH Act, the person must get a copy and be told whether the jail intends to comply. Ask your relative to designate you, or their lawyer, to receive any release-date notice.
5. Do not pay until you know which case the money answers. Criminal bail and an immigration bond are separate payments to separate governments.
6. For an immigration bond, line up the obligor first. Confirm the obligor is a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, a law firm or a nonprofit; confirm the ID is on ICE’s list; and arrange a bank transfer that can be completed during ICE’s weekday posting hours.
7. If you use a bond company, verify the surety. Check the company’s surety against Treasury’s Circular 570 list, and get the full cost, collateral terms and any monitoring requirements in writing.
8. Gather evidence for a bond hearing. Proof of address, family ties, work history, a sponsor’s letter and a record of attending court all speak to the factors immigration judges weigh.
9. Keep both calendars. Check immigration hearing dates at 1-800-898-7180, keep every California court date, and keep every paper, including Form I-352 now and Form I-391 later.
10. Tell the bail agent immediately if ICE detains someone who is out on criminal bail. Fast notice gives everyone the most room to protect the defendant and the cosigner.

How Bail Hotline Can Help

Everything above this section is written to be useful whether or not you ever call us. This is the one place we talk about ourselves.

Bail Hotline is a family-owned bail bond company that has served California families since 2004. We are licensed through our parent company, DMCG, Inc., with the California Department of Insurance (license #1845394). Reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at (888) 958-1228.

Arrested on a California charge, with immigration worries in the background? We move fast on the criminal side

When someone is booked into a California jail and the family is also frightened about immigration, the first hours are the hardest. Which agency has them? Is there a hold? What is bail, and who can sign? That is the moment we are built for: getting the facts on the California criminal case quickly and moving on bail, at any hour, while the family lines up the right lawyers.

• Jail information quickly, at no charge. Our agents gather inmate information for all jails quickly and at no charge, and every Bail Hotline office holds accounts with the jail systems.
• Posting agents on duty 24/7. When bail is set, our dedicated posting agents work around the clock, including nights, weekends and holidays.
• Every cosigner is walked through the agreement. Before anyone signs, an agent explains what the cosigner is agreeing to and answers questions.
• Out-of-county is not an automatic no. A large, complicated or out-of-county bond is not an automatic no for us.
• Warrant walk-throughs. If there may be a California warrant, we walk you through the steps to address it. Our guide to posting bail on an outstanding warrant explains how bail on a warrant works.

Every case is different. A California judge decides bail and release conditions in the criminal case. ICE and the immigration court make their own custody decisions, and nothing in a criminal bail bond changes those decisions. We cannot promise approval, a release time or any result in either case.

After release: keeping the California case on track

• Text court-date reminders. We send text reminders of court dates, which matter even more when a family is juggling two calendars.
• If ICE detains someone who is out on bail, call us right away. Tell us where the person is held and share the A-number if you have it. The California court date still matters, and the defense lawyer should know the same day.
• Signing out of a bond. A cosigner may be able to sign out of a bond that is in good standing, meaning there are no past-due payments and the defendant has not missed court or daily online check-ins. We explain how it works case by case. See our guides to your role as a bail bond cosigner and removing a cosigner’s name from a bail bond.

The services above concern California criminal bail. The immigration bond itself is posted with ICE under the federal rules described earlier, and that is the work of our sister company, Liberty Immigration Bonds, which handles immigration bonds. Both companies are part of DMCG, Inc., and Liberty’s staff speak English and Spanish.

Find more offices in our locations directory, start online with online bail bonds, or read quick answers in our bail FAQ.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an immigration bond the same as bail?

No. Both pay for release while a case continues, but bail belongs to a California criminal case and an immigration bond belongs to a civil federal removal case. Different agencies set them, different rules decide who can pay, and paying one never satisfies the other.

How much is an immigration bond?

There is no schedule. Federal law sets a floor of $1,500 for a bond under 8 U.S.C. 1226(a), and a voluntary departure bond ordered at the end of proceedings is at least $500. Above those floors, ICE and the immigration judge set the amount based on the individual person’s danger and flight-risk factors, so nobody can quote you a reliable number in advance.

Can a bail bondsman post an immigration bond?

An immigration bond can be paid in full by an eligible obligor or posted through an immigration bond company backed by a surety that holds a Treasury certificate under 8 CFR 103.6(b). A California bail bond, by contrast, answers a California criminal case. Whoever you use, ask which surety backs the bond and check it against Treasury’s Circular 570 list.

Can an undocumented relative pay an immigration bond?

ICE lists eligible obligors as U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms and nonprofit organizations. The only noncitizen exception on ICE’s page is a noncitizen posting a voluntary departure or order of supervision bond on their own behalf. If no relative qualifies, ask an immigration lawyer whether a law firm or nonprofit organization can serve as obligor.

Can I pay an immigration bond at night or on the weekend?

Generally not. ICE lists bond posting hours as Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding government holidays, in the time zone where the person is detained. California criminal bail is different: timing depends on the jail, and bail agents can work around the clock.

Do you get immigration bond money back?

A cash immigration bond stays in effect until ICE issues its cancellation notice, Form I-391, which closes out the obligor’s promise. If the bond is breached by a substantial violation of its conditions, the obligor forfeits the deposit, although ICE says it still refunds interest that accrued on a cash deposit. If you used a bond company, your contract decides what you get back from the company.

What happens if someone on an immigration bond misses a hearing?

Two things can happen. The bond can be breached, costing the obligor the deposit. And under 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5)(A), a person who received the required written notice and does not attend can be ordered removed in absentia. Check hearing dates at 1-800-898-7180.

Will a California jail hold someone for ICE after they post bail?

Under the California Values Act, a California law enforcement agency may not detain someone on the basis of an ICE hold request. It may notify ICE of a nonpublic release date or transfer the person only in the situations Government Code 7282.5 allows, or, for a transfer, with a judicial warrant or judicial probable cause determination. The TRUTH Act requires the jail to give the person a copy of any ICE request and say whether it intends to comply.

What happens to a California bail bond if ICE detains or deports the defendant?

The criminal case continues, and a missed court date can lead to forfeiture. Penal Code 1305 allows a forfeiture to be vacated or its time limit tolled when a defendant cannot appear because of “detention by military or civil authorities,” and allows exoneration when the defendant is in custody elsewhere and the prosecutor elects not to seek extradition. The court decides based on the facts, so tell the bail agent and defense lawyer immediately.

Does getting out on an immigration bond end the deportation case?

No. The bond decision is separate from the removal case. The person must keep attending immigration court and following ICE’s conditions until the case is decided.

Why We Publish This

An arrest can carry an immigration question inside it, and immigration bonds and criminal bail are easy to confuse. They are not the same, and the differences decide who can pay, when, and what happens next. We publish this guide so families can see the actual federal and California rules, in plain English, with the statutes, regulations and decisions linked, and get to the right lawyer and the right payment faster. This guide is general information, not legal advice. For advice about a specific case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney and, if there is a criminal charge, a California criminal defense lawyer or the public defender.

Sources and Further Reading

Federal statutes

• 8 U.S.C. 1226 (arrest, detention, bond and mandatory detention, including subsection (c)(1)(E) added by the Laken Riley Act, Pub. L. 119-1, January 29, 2025)
• 8 U.S.C. 1182 (inadmissibility grounds, including (a)(6)(A), (a)(6)(C) and (a)(7))
• 8 U.S.C. 1229a (removal proceedings and in absentia orders)
• 8 U.S.C. 1362 (right to counsel at no expense to the government)

Federal regulations (eCFR, current as of September 2026)

• 8 CFR 103.6 (immigration bonds, acceptable sureties and breach)
• 8 CFR 1003.19 (custody and bond redeterminations by immigration judges)
• 8 CFR 1003.38 (appeal deadlines, as amended February 6, 2026)
• 8 CFR 1236.1 (custody determinations and release standard)
• 8 CFR 1240.26 (voluntary departure and voluntary departure bonds)

Immigration court and Board of Immigration Appeals

• Immigration Court Practice Manual, bond proceedings (EOIR)
• Matter of Guerra, 24 I&N Dec. 37 (BIA 2006)
• Matter of A-L-S-, 29 I&N Dec. 794 (BIA 2026) (July 28, 2026)
• EOIR automated case information (updated May 29, 2025)
• EOIR, find legal representation

Federal court decisions and litigation tracking

• Rodriguez Vazquez v. Bostock, No. 25-6842 (9th Cir. July 30, 2026)
• Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001)
• Maldonado Bautista v. Santacruz, No. 5:25-cv-01873 (C.D. Cal.) (Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse case page)
• CLINIC, “A Circuit Split Ripe for Review” (September 11, 2026)
• CLINIC, “Three BIA Decisions Severely Limit Bond Eligibility” (Matter of Yajure Hurtado, Matter of Dobrotvorskii, Matter of Akhmedov)

Federal agency pages

• ICE, immigration bonds
• ICE, Alternatives to Detention
• USA.gov, find someone detained by ICE (updated March 17, 2026)
• Bureau of the Fiscal Service, surety bonds and Department Circular 570 (list updated August 1, 2026)

California law

• Penal Code 987 (appointed counsel)
• Penal Code 1269b (bail schedules and bail fixed by the judge)
• Penal Code 1275 (factors in setting bail)
• Penal Code 1295 (cash deposit instead of bail)
• Penal Code 1299.07 (bail fugitive recovery limits, including immigration enforcement)
• Penal Code 1305 (forfeiture and relief from forfeiture)
• Government Code 7282.5 (when cooperation with immigration authorities is permitted)
• Government Code 7283.1 (TRUTH Act notice rights)
• Government Code 7284.6 (California Values Act limits)

California court decisions

• In re Humphrey (Cal. Supreme Court, March 25, 2021)
• People v. American Surety Ins. Co. (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1063