Teresa’s Heartbreak: Jailed Husband Joe Giudice To Be Deported From U.S., Government Confirms
Jan. 4 2019, Updated 10:17 a.m. ET
Teresa Giudice’s worst fear has become a reality. The Real Housewives of New Jersey star’s husband Joe is officially in the process of being deported as he serves his federal prison sentence, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told RadarOnline.com exclusively.
Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, a native of Italy, is “in deportation proceedings while he’s in custody,” the ICE spokesperson told RadarOnline.com. “ICE has lodged a detainer, and he is in removal proceedings.”
Though he isn’t scheduled for release until March 2019, Joe could be kicked out of the country before he’s completed his sentence.
“If he is ordered deported while in custody, he will be removed from the U.S.,” the spokesperson continued.
If he is able to complete his sentence, he will immediately be transferred to the care of ICE instead of returning home to Teresa and their four daughters.
The 46-year-old dad, who is more than two years into his more than three-year sentence, most recently attended a hearing via Virtual Teleconference on June 20 regarding his imminent deportation.
As RadarOnline.com extensively reported, Joe is serving 41 months in prison on fraud charges. He recently transferred to Allenwood prison in Pennsylvania, where immigration issues are frequently handled.
Though it was always a possibility, the deportation is a recent development for Joe. In a September 2017 court filing, he admitted he was under an ICE detainer, but insisted he was not in removal proceedings.
Earlier this year, Teresa said she “wouldn’t mind” moving to Italy if her husband was indeed deported.
“I mean, Italy’s a beautiful place to live,” Teresa said on last season’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.”
But a source told RadarOnline.com this year that Teresa is “terrified” of the possibility of her husband’s deportation — and has no desire to leave her home in New Jersey.
After RadarOnline.com's shocking exclusive, a lawyer for Joe told People that "no decision" has been made regarding his immigration status.
"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 this is how this will end," James J. Leonard Jr. told the magazine.
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