Hours Before Deportation: How aiLegal's Relentless Advocacy Brought a Father Home
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
February 22, 2026
Last Friday, aiLegal's team received a notice form our client's son that his father would be physically deported on coming Sunday.
Two days.
A weekend.
A removal flight already scheduled.
Our client is a senior noncitizen diagnosed with dementia. He is the husband of a U.S. Citizen and the father of a U.S. Citizen child. He has a valid U visa deferred action and a pending family-based application. Yet an old removal order issued a decade ago placed him back to ICE's detention and deportation list.
When his son called us, there was fear in his voice - the kind of fear that comes when time is running out.
At aiLegal, we do not measure our commitment to our clients in office hours.
Friday Night: The Fight Begins
Three attorneys, James Slater, Lucy Lu, and William Most, immediately begin working after hours on Friday. There was no delay. No waiting until Monday.
We prepared and filed a federal habeas petition and emergency Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana that same night. Our client was detained at Alexandria Staging Facility, Louisiana then.
We timely notified:
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations
ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor
The U.S. Attorney's Office
The assigned Deportation Officer
The law had been invoked. The emergency filing was in place. But the weekend was only beginning.
Saturday: A Sudden Transfer
On Saturday, ICE transferred our client to Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Texas. Then came with warning: without a granted TRO, deportation would proceed.
We repeatedly attempted to reach the court after hours. There was no response.
Under a tremendous stress, aiLegal's attorneys stay calm and we decided to pivot immediately.
We moved to dismiss the Louisiana action and refiled the case in the Southern District of Texas, under intensive time pressure, knowing the deportation clock is clicking.
This was not a procedural exercise. It was a race against a plane.
Just in Time
Right before the scheduled deportation, the federal court granted the TRO. ICE removed our client from the deportation list.
A family did not lose a husband.
A child did not lose a father.
A vulnerable senior with dementia was not sent alone to a country where he has no support.
What this Says About aiLegal
At aiLegal, we believe: You chase the dream. We do the rest.
Our promise does not pause on weekend or after office hours. When necessary, we:
Work after hours
Litigate across states
Pivot strategies overnight
Coordinate immediate federal filings
Stay in communication with government agencies after hours and weekends under emergency condition
We do this because immigration law is not abstract.
It is about families.
It is about dignity.
It is about not giving up when the clock is ticking.
When Time Matters, Action Matters
Even when someone has a prior removal order, options may still exist - especially when deferred action or other humanitarian protections are in place.
But emergency situations require immediate and experienced legal action. This weekend reminded us why we built aiLegal the way we did - a team that is responsive, strategic, and relentless when our clients' future are at stake.
If you or a loved one is facing imminent removal, do not assume it is too late.
Sometimes, the difference between deportation and protection is what happens in the next 48 hours.
And we at aiLegal are prepared for those 48 hours.
See our granted TRO here.
