A Family Member Has Been Detained. Time Matters.
When someone is taken into immigration custody, families are often left with more questions than answers. Where are they being held? Can they be released? Are they eligible for bond? Do they have a defense to removal? Can they seek asylum or another form of relief? What happens if immigration authorities refuse to release them?
Robert R. Flores represents detained immigrants and their families through these difficult proceedings, with particular experience handling cases involving immigration detention in South Texas. The objective begins with understanding why the individual is being detained, what proceedings are pending, what avenues for release may exist, and what must be done to protect the client's ability to remain in the United States.
When detention requires immediate action, having counsel familiar with both the immigration system and the federal courts can make an important difference.
Immigration Detention Is a Major Focus of the Practice
Robert R. Flores has represented detained individuals from countries around the world in immigration proceedings involving a wide range of circumstances—from individuals apprehended after entering the United States without authorization to asylum seekers, longtime residents, individuals with family ties in the United States, and people seeking to obtain or preserve lawful immigration status.
His detention practice includes matters involving:
The strategy depends entirely upon the client's immigration history, manner of entry, family relationships, criminal history, available relief, and the legal basis for continued detention.
Local Experience With South Texas Detention Facilities
Knowing the System Matters. Knowing the Facility Matters Too.
South Texas is home to major immigration detention operations, and detained cases present practical challenges that attorneys handling matters from hundreds or thousands of miles away may not encounter regularly.
Mr. Flores has particular experience representing clients detained at the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, as well as individuals detained in the Bayview/Port Isabel area of South Texas.
His familiarity with detention practice in the region provides families and referring attorneys with local counsel who understands the facilities, the courts, the procedures, and the practical realities of representing someone who is already in government custody.
A Resource for Immigration Attorneys Across the Country
Immigration detention in South Texas frequently affects clients whose families and primary immigration attorneys are located elsewhere in the United States.
As a result, law firms and attorneys from outside South Texas refer detained matters to Robert R. Flores when their clients are transferred to or held in detention facilities in the region and local representation is needed.
Mr. Flores can work directly with the detained individual and family or alongside existing immigration counsel, depending upon the needs of the case.
That local role can be particularly important when counsel needs someone familiar with detention proceedings and the realities of representing individuals held in South Texas facilities.
Seeking Release From Immigration Custody
Detention Does Not Always Mean the Client Must Remain Detained.
One of the first questions families ask is simple: "How do we get them out?" The answer depends upon the legal basis for detention and the client's individual circumstances.
Where legally available, Mr. Flores evaluates potential avenues for release, including immigration bond proceedings, custody redetermination, requests for appropriate administrative relief, and federal judicial remedies when continued detention raises issues that can properly be brought before a federal court.
The goal is not simply to file paperwork. It is to identify the strongest legally available path toward release while simultaneously protecting the client's underlying immigration case.
Federal Habeas Corpus & Federal Court Representation
Immigration detention does not exist entirely within the immigration-court system. When appropriate, Robert R. Flores represents clients in federal court proceedings involving immigration detention, including petitions for writ of habeas corpus challenging unlawful or prolonged detention.
His admission to practice before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas is particularly relevant in South Texas detention matters.
This combination of immigration-court representation and federal litigation experience allows the firm to evaluate remedies beyond the ordinary administrative process when the circumstances and law support doing so.
Removal Defense & Relief From Removal
Getting a client released from custody may be only the first battle. The underlying immigration case must also be addressed.
Mr. Flores represents clients facing removal while evaluating potential forms of relief based upon their individual circumstances. Depending upon the case, those issues may involve asylum, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture protection, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, family relationships, existing immigration benefits, or other defenses and forms of relief available under federal immigration law.
For clients seeking asylum or humanitarian protection, the consequences can be particularly serious. The case may determine whether the individual can remain safely in the United States or must return to a country they fled.
Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association
Robert R. Flores is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and maintains an immigration practice particularly focused on detention, removal proceedings, and the intersection between immigration proceedings and federal litigation.
His clients have come from throughout the world, but his detention practice is firmly rooted in South Texas—where geography, familiarity with the local detention system, and the ability to act quickly can be especially important.
Immigration Detention Questions
Related Practice Areas
Someone You Care About Is in Immigration Custody. Start Here.
You do not need to understand the entire immigration system before calling an attorney. If a family member, friend, employee, or client has been detained, the first step is determining where the person is being held, why they are being detained, what proceedings are pending, and whether there is a viable path toward release or relief from removal.
Robert R. Flores represents detained immigrants and families in South Texas and works with referring immigration counsel throughout the United States.
Do not send identification numbers, immigration documents, or confidential case details through an unsecured website form. Submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship.
