Joe Giudice was only one-year-old when he moved to the US with his parents, but now The Real Housewives of New Jersey husband is looking at the possibility of deportation after he’s done serving his prison sentence.
Joe’s term ends in 2019 but that doesn’t mean he’s headed back to his swanky home in New Jersey. Due to his felony conviction and lack of legal residency, there’s a chance that he could end up being deported back to Italy next year.
RHONJ fans might remember when Joe was transferred from FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey to a new home behind bars near Allentown, Pennsylvania. The move put him farther away from his family but it was done so he could work through a sobriety program that would reduce his sentence.
Initially, Joe was denied the transfer because of “a detainer placed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement“. That was resolved, at least for the purpose of the transfer, but it looks like the Joe Giudice deportation drama is still very much a thing.
In fact, it was confirmed by ICE that Joe is still dealing with the agency and that they are in the midst of “removal proceedings”. They could end with Joe Giudice being deported back to his native Italy even though he hasn’t actively lived there since he was an infant.
When RHONJ fans started buzzing about reports that Teresa Giudice’s husband may actually be deported, his lawyer took a moment to clear a few things up. James Leonard Jr. confirmed that there are active proceedings regarding the deportation of Joe Giudice but that nothing has been decided yet.
“I can state with absolute certainty that no decision has been made regarding the immigration status of Joe Giudice,” Leonard Jr. told PEOPLE. “The same immigration detainer that was lodged against him in March of 2016 remains in place today, but I want to be absolutely clear about this, no judicial authority has made any decision regarding what will happen with that detainer.”
“Mr. Giudice has immigration counsel who are and have been working aggressively on his behalf so that he can return home to his wife and four young daughters and we remain optimistic that that is how this will end,” Leonard continued.
This sounds way better than another report put out by Radar Online that made Joe Giudice’s deportation situation sound dire. The Real Housewives of Real Jersey husband still has plenty of time to work out his legal issues before his release.