The Real Housewives of New JerseystarJoe Giudicewill not be reunited with his family as he awaits news of hisongoing deportation battle.
A judge ruled that the 47-year-old father of four would not be allowed to return to the New Jersey home he shares with wifeTeresa Giudice, 47, and their daughters Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 14, and Audriana, 10.
“Joe is extremely disappointed,” James J. Leonard, the Giudice family attorney tells PEOPLE in a statement. “He spent the last six months in a cage not able to hug or kiss his wife or daughters when they came to visit him. We treat animals in shelters better than we treat human beings in these ICE facilities.”
The news comes days afterJoe’s lawyer requested that he be released from ICE custodyto spend time with his family before the court’s final determination in his deportation case is made.
Since Joe’srelease from prisonin March after completing a 41-month sentence for mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud, Joe has been in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, staying at the Clinton County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania.
The Giudice Family.Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
In October, an immigration court ruled todeport Joeto hisnative Italyafter his prison sentence. Even though he has lived in the United States since he was a child, henever obtained American citizenship, and immigrants can be deported if they are convicted of “a crime of moral turpitude” or an “aggravated felony,” according to U.S. law.
Joe appealed the deportation decision more than once, but his appeals against the rulingwere denied. A final appeal is still pending.
The court agreed in Mayto allow him to continue living at the ICE facility in the U.S. as he awaits his fate.
At bond hearing on Sept. 11, the request was made for Joe to be allowed back home.
Though Joe wasn’t physically in court, a source previously told PEOPLE he appeared via video conference. His wife Teresa was also present, as was his mother, sister, brother and two dozen other family members (the four Giudice kids were all in school).
Dave Kotinsky/Getty
Joe and Teresa wereindicted in 2013when they were accused of hiding their fortune in a bankruptcy filing. Joe was also accused of failing to file tax returns between 2004 and 2008.
Teresa wasreleased from federal prisonin 2015 after serving 11 months of a 15-month sentence for fraud. Joe began his sentence for the same crimes in March 2016.
“I’m not doing a long-distance relationship. I’m not doing it,” she said on theReal Housewives of New Jerseyseason 9 reunion. “I want somebody with me every day.”
source: people.com
