Holzbaur Law
What to do when ICE detains someone in Jacksonville
If someone you love was just taken by ICE, the next few days matter more than anything that comes after. Here is what to do, and how we help.
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Holzbaur Law
If someone you love was just taken by ICE, the next few days matter more than anything that comes after. Here is what to do, and how we help.
Holzbaur Law represents people detained by ICE in North Florida, most of them held at the two Baker County facilities about 40 minutes west of Jacksonville, and the families trying to bring them home.
An ICE arrest usually happens without warning: at home early in the morning, at a traffic stop, at a check-in, or when a local jail hands someone over on a detainer. The person is booked, moved to a detention facility, and often cannot call out for a day or more. Families are left guessing where they are and what happens next.
Attorney John Holzbaur handles these cases personally. He appears before the Orlando immigration court that hears Baker County cases, and because he is admitted to the Middle District of Florida Federal Bar, he can file a habeas corpus petition in federal court when the immigration court says it has no power to release someone. That combination is not common in Jacksonville, and in the current environment it often makes the difference.
What families need to know
Being detained means ICE is holding someone while the government decides whether to try to remove them. Most people still have the right to a hearing before an immigration judge, and many have defenses. The danger is what happens in the first days, a signed form, a missed deadline, a transfer, not the arrest itself.
The Baker County Detention Center in Macclenny is the county jail, which holds people for ICE under contract. The much larger state-run facility in Sanderson, at the former Baker Correctional Institution, opened in 2025 and is operated by the State of Florida. Different addresses, visiting rules, and phone systems. We confirm which one before anyone drives.
People detained in Florida are routinely flown to Louisiana, Texas, or Arizona within days or weeks. A transfer moves the case to a different court, a different district, and far from witnesses and family. Having counsel on record early is one of the few things that slows this down.
Since 2025 the government has taken the position that many people who entered without inspection are not eligible for a bond hearing before an immigration judge at all. Many federal courts have disagreed. That is why the ability to file a habeas corpus petition in the Middle District of Florida matters so much right now.
How we help
We confirm the facility, pull the charging documents, and find out what ICE is alleging and whether a transfer is already scheduled. You get a straight answer about the options within days, not weeks.
A notice of appearance with ICE and the immigration court, a legal visit with your family member, and a request for release or a bond hearing, filed in the first days.
Bond hearing before the immigration judge, a request for parole or supervised release from ICE, or, when the court says it cannot act, a habeas corpus petition in federal court. We tell you which path fits and what it costs before we start.
Release is the first fight, not the last. We continue in immigration court with the defense that fits: cancellation of removal, asylum and related protection, adjustment of status, or appeal.
Jacksonville and Baker County
Our office is downtown at 233 East Bay Street. Baker County is a 40-minute drive west on I-10. The immigration court that hears these cases is in Orlando. The federal courthouse for habeas petitions is a few blocks from our door. We work in all four places every week.
County jail with an ICE contract. Attorney visits and video calls follow the sheriff's rules. Commissary and phone accounts are set up through the jail.
Operated by the State of Florida at the former Baker Correctional Institution. Larger, newer, and with its own procedures for legal access. Court appearances are by video.
There is no immigration court in Jacksonville; detained Baker County cases are heard in Orlando. Federal habeas petitions are filed in the Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida, where John is admitted.
Questions
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Serving Jacksonville, Baker County, and North Florida, including NAS Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, and the Middle District of Florida.