ICE is on a serious warpath, and even reality stars aren’t safe.
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice’s husband Joe is allegedly set to be deported, according to a new report from RadarOnline.com. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the website that “ICE has lodged a detainer,” and that Joe Giudice is currently in “removal proceedings.”
Giudice is currently serving a 41-month prison sentence for bankruptcy fraud that began in March 2016. The spokesperson made clear that Giudice may be removed from the country before his scheduled 2019 release, but thathe alternative isn’t any better for the Giudices — the report went on to state that if Giudice is able to complete his sentence he’ll be immediately transferred over to ICE and not be able to go home to his wife and four daughters.
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Giudice family lawyer James J. Leonard Jr. refuted the claims after the news broke on Radar, and told People that “no decision” has been made regarding Joe being deported back to his native Italy.
“I can state with absolute certainty that no decision has been made regarding the immigration status of Joe Giudice,” Leonard Jr. told the magazine. “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.”
While the circumstances surrounding this situation are certainly not ideal, Teresa has remained optimistic in the event that her husband and family are forced to leave the United States.
“I mean, Italy’s a beautiful place to live,” Teresa told host Andy Cohen during January’s RHONJ reunion. “I wouldn’t mind, you know, I’m just saying. Listen, whatever God has planned for me, that’s what’s going to happen. I will embrace it the best I can.”