If you are detained in immigration court and find yourself before an immigration judge who is telling you that you are eligible to do a bond hearing to determine whether you should remain detained or whether you can fight your case outside of custody, you have two options.
 

You can either ask the judge for a continuance to have time to find an attorney, or you can handle the hearing yourself.

If you plan to represent yourself pro se for a bond hearing while you are in detention, then this blog post is for you! 

In this instance, you must be prepared to prove the following two things.
 

First, you will have to show that you are not a flight risk.  To prove that you are not a flight risk, the judge will want to see whether you have ties to the United States to keep you here while you fight your immigration case; he or she will want to know that you do not plan to flee or evade facing your removal proceedings.  Coming prepared with documentation to show who you will be living with if released, where you will be living, and how you will be financially supported upon release while fighting your immigration case would all be extremely beneficial for your bond hearing.  In addition, knowing what kind of relief you will be seeking or are eligible for would be helpful as well because the more types of relief you are eligible for, the better.  The more ways you must fight your case, the more likely you are to stay and fight, so it plays into the judge’s analysis as to whether you are a flight risk.
 

Next, you will have to show that you are not a danger to the community.  If you do not have a criminal record, this will not be a problem.  Ideally, you will have a background check prepared to show the judge and to the government attorney that you do not in fact have a record.  If you do have a criminal record, I would highly suggest hiring an attorney.  But if you are appearing pro se, the best thing to do would be to accept full responsibility of your past actions and to show remorse indicating you will not get in trouble with the law again in the future.
 

The decision is of course yours ultimately, but, in my opinion, the best way to handle a bond hearing would be to tell the judge you need time to find an attorney so that you can find one to represent you.  A good attorney will know to come prepared with documentation to support the argument that you deserve to be released from custody. 

If you have any questions about the above, don’t hesitate to contact my office!