Because deportation can take months, deportable aliens should ask the sentencing judge for at least a month reduction in their sentences. A defense attorney can call immigration authorities – deportation section – to determine the amount of time it would take to deport an alien to a particular country. Some countries take longer than others, and some federal districts take longer than others. In Washington D.C., it could take up to six months! Armed with that information a defendant can reasonably ask for a reduction of sentence equivalent to the amount of time it would take to process deportation.
It is absolutely unfair for defendants to remain incarcerated while the authorities process their deportations. Deportable aliens should complain to their consulates. They should be pressing for early deportations. It is inexcusable to be deprived of one’s liberty only because the U.S. government cannot get its act together.
A judge would be very sympathetic to this sort of argument. A defendant sentenced to 60 months imprisonment followed by deportation, should ask the judge for a sentence of 59 or 58 months. That way the defendant will not have to serve a day more than he or she has to