Joe Giudice isn’t home with his family just yet, despite his optimism that he’d be back in New Jersey with his wife and four kids by the time March rolled around. While Giudice had time shaved off his prison center he is still holed up in a New Jersey correctional facility, and his immigration status is the reason. Giudice, who failed to obtain citizenship during his marriage to Teresa Giudice is facing an order to leave the country. If the order goes through, he will be ineligible to ever come back to the United States, even though he has spent the last 45 years in the country.
Why is Joe Giudice still in prison?
Joe Giudice was set to be released from prison on or around
March 4, 2019, after serving the majority of his 41-month sentence, but the New
Jersey father of four is still sitting behind bars. Giudice’s term didn’t end on
its originally scheduled date due to his deportation situation. According to Entertainment
Tonight, Giudice’s release has been pushed back in order to complete
the deportation appeals process.
Giudice, 46, might be in for a long wait. While he filed his last-minute appeal back in November 2018, it can take several months for a detainee to get to the final step of the appeals process, according to SGM Law Group. While the appeals court aims to finish a process within 180 days, complicated cases such as Giudice’s can take substantially longer.
On what grounds is Giudice fighting his deportation?
Teresa Giudice has been tight-lipped about the appeal
process but told Andy Cohen during the
Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion
that they are still fighting to keep Giudice in the country. She has not shared
much about their strategy, but according
to All Law, there are several ways to avoid deportation even after an order
has been issued.
Giudice may argue that he would have been eligible for a change of status due to his marriage to Teresa Giudice. Teresa is a United States resident. The pair have been married for nearly 20 years. Giudice is likely not eligible for protection under DACA regulations even though he arrived in the United States as a child.
DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a program intended to allow individuals who entered illegally as children to remain in the country. Individuals applying under DACA regulations must have turned 31 years old no later than June 15, 2012. Giudice was 39 at the cut-off date.
Will Teresa move with Joe if he gets deported?
While Teresa Giudice has long been supportive of her
husband, she has since decided that she would not be moving if Joe gets
deported. She told Cohen during the reunion special that she would be staying
behind in New Jersey with the couple’s four children if
the appeal process doesn’t work. The couple would divorce
and go their separate ways if that were to happen.
Guidice told Cohen that she and Joe had spoken about the issue and he understood her feelings on the topic. Giudice noted the couple’s children as the reason for her decision. Their oldest daughter Gia is set to start college this year. Gabriella, 15, allegedly told her mother that the idea of moving to Italy would be too hard. The youngest two have not been privy to the discussions, according to Giudice. The couple’s youngest daughter, Audriana, was born in 2009.
