Joe Giudice is headed back to Italy. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star’s request to be released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and return to the country of his birth has been granted, Us Weekly reports.
Judges grant Joe’s request to return to Italy
The 47-year-old Giudice has been fighting to stay in the United States since a judge ordered his deportation in October 2018. While a decision on his deportation appeal is still pending, the convicted felon requested to return to Italy so that he could begin earning money to support his wife Teresa Giudice and their four daughters, Gia, 18, Gabrielle, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10. On October 3, two judges granted that request.
“[Joe wants to] begin working and contributing financially to his wife and four kids,” his lawyer, James Leonard, said in a document obtained by Us Weekly.
Eventually, Giudice hopes to return to the U.S., where he has lived since he was a baby. In late September, a judge denied his request to return home to New Jersey while awaiting a final decision on his immigration case.
Giudice will likely return to Italy in the next few weeks, once flight arrangements have been made and travel documents secured, People reported.
Why is Joe being deported?
Teresa Giudice’s husband has been in ICE custody since March 2019. That’s when he was released from prison after completing a 41-month sentence for fraud.
Giudice, who once owned a construction business, caught the eye of immigration authorities after he and his wife pleaded guilty to mail, wire, and bankruptcy in 2014. Though he had lived in New Jersey since he was a child, Giudice was not an American citizen. As a result, he was subject to deportation after being convicted of an “aggravated felony” or a “crime of moral turpitude.”
The RHONJ star has been fighting to stay in the U.S. for a year, but his appeals have been denied. As the saga drags on, Giudice is reportedly losing hope that he’ll be reunited with his family in America.
“He’s fighting, but he’s really resigned to the fact that he’ll be deported,” a source told People. “And losing that hope has left him bitter, angry, and unhappy. He’s a shell of who he used to be.”
The Giudice’s marriage may not survive
The Giudices have stayed together through the fraud case and two prison stints. (Teresa Giudice served 15 months before her husband began his sentence.) But being separated by an ocean might be too much for the Bravo couple to bear.
During the taping of the season 9 RHONJ reunion, Teresa Giudice reportedly told castmates that she and her spouse would “go our separate ways” if he had to move to Italy.
“Teresa told Andy [Cohen] that if Joe gets deported, she’s not going,” a source told People. “She said that she and Joe had talked about it over the phone, and that he understood.”
Read more: Kim D Drops Dirt On Teresa’s Parenting Style During ‘The Domenick Nati Show”
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