Joe Giudice Released From Prison Straight Into ICE Custody For Possible Deportation

Joe Giudice completed his prison sentence on Thursday and was released from Allenwood Low Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, but that doesn’t mean the Real Housewives of New Jersey star was able to return to his family. The 46-year-old was immediately transferred to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Page Six. He will remain in custody until his deportation appeal is heard.

ICE confirmed the news and James Leonard Jr., Teresa Giudice’s lawyer, issued a statement doing the same.

“Mr. Giudice has finished serving his federal prison sentence and was transferred early this morning from the Bureau of Prisons to a facility in western Pennsylvania which houses immigration detainees,” he said.

The lawyer added that Joe, Teresa, and his four daughters, Gia, 17, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 10, haven’t given up hope.

“His lawyers and his family are hopeful that justice will prevail and Mr. Guidice will return home to his wife and four daughters who love him and miss him.”

Joe, who was born Giuseppe Giudice, was ordered by the judge overseeing his case to be deported to his native Italy after his 41-month sentence was completed. Joe was born in Saronno, Italy, and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 1-year-old. However, he never obtained his citizenship, leaving him vulnerable to deportation.

In 2014, Joe was sentenced to after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud and mail fraud. His wife served just under a year for her part in the crime, and he headed to prison in 2016 to serve his time.

There is more on the line than Joe’s ability to stay in the country. His wife, Teresa, recently opened up to Andy Cohen about whether or not she would stay with him if he were to leave the country, as The Inquisitr previously reported. When asked if she would move to Italy, she said that with her daughter starting college and their whole lives in New Jersey, she didn’t think that was in the cards.

“I hope that’s not a decision I have to make,” she said. “But like, to pick up my children and just move to another country, I don’t think that would be good for my children. So I mean, so no, I probably wouldn’t.”

Reportedly, the Real Housewives cameras will be catching all of the drama as it goes down, and viewers will be able to watch as it unfolds on the 10th season of the show.