The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s most notorious husband, Joe Giudice, appeared in court this morning to beg an immigration judge to allow him to remain in the U.S. with his wife, Teresa Giudice, and their four daughters.
Joe attended the deportation hearing via teleconference from the Allenwood, Pennsylvania prison, in which he is currently serving more than 3 years on fraud charges. As previously reported, Joe, an Italian citizen who was brought to the U.S. illegally as a child, is now in active removal proceedings because of his crimes.
According to Radar Online, Joe’s attorney, Jerard Gonzalez, argued that Joe should not be deported because his crimes do not warrant it, and that even if they did, he should be allowed to cancel deportation proceedings.
Immigration Judge Ellington said that he would decide if Joe qualified for cancellation of removal by October 1st, but warned him that, even if he ruled in Joe’s favor, the prosecuting attorneys might appeal the decision.
“If I find he is eligible for cancellation of removal or that he should not be deported, the government prosecutors have a right to appeal,” Judge Ellington said.
Then he addressed Joe directly.
“Mr. Guidice, we met a few months ago, I know your case very well. Is there anything you would like to say?” he asked.
At this point, Joe, clad in a grey prison jumpsuit, and black rim glasses, threw up his hands, shook his head and sighed, as he attempted to plead his case.
“I’ve been here my whole life, I wouldn’t know what to do in any other country,” he stated. “I want to stay here.”
As expected, Teresa was conspicuously absent during the hearing.
“Teresa is saying that she isn’t going to court for the hearing,” a source told Radar on August 9. “She just can’t take the stress, and she believes nothing will happen anyway, so she doesn’t need to be there.”
However, Teresa’s confidence may be misplaced. This is sure to be an uphill battle, as Homeland Security officials have been fighting Joe’s requests to stop the deportation proceedings, saying he has not provided sufficient evidence to prove he should be able to stay.
Another hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 10th, and as always, we’ll keep you posted as new details become available.
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