The 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star is currently in ICE custody, pending immigration proceedings.
Joe Giudice is willing to leave the country if it means he'll have his freedom.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey star is currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, pending immigration proceedings, and has asked that he be allowed to return to Italy as it's decided whether he'll be able to come back to to the U.S. and reside with his wife, Teresa, and their four daughters. Joe, 47, was born in Saronno, Italy.
The request comes after a judge denied Joe's bond last week when he asked to leave the facilities and go home while the decision in his deportation appeal was being made. "When is enough going to be enough? This family has paid their debt to society and then some," Joe's attorney, James J. Leonard Jr., told ET in a statement at the time. "Joe Giudice belongs home with his family."
Joe was released from prison in March after serving three years behind bars upon pleading guilty to multiple charges of fraud in 2014. He was immediately transferred to ICE custody. He filed an appeal in federal court, but that appeal was denied in April. In a statement to ET at the time, Joe's lawyer said he would continue to fight to keep him in the country.
"We are extremely disappointed that the Board of Immigration Appeals has denied Mr. Giudice's appeal. We have filed a stay with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and will continue to fight to keep Mr. Giudice in the United States, the only country he knows, and reunite him with his wife and four daughters," Leonard Jr. said.
In May, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granted Joe's request to stay in the country amid his battle to avoid deportation, according to court documents obtained by ET.
As for Teresa, she also pleaded guilty to fraud in 2014 and was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison beginning in January 2015. She was released in December that same year. Since then, she has started a petition to fight her husband's deportation.
In 2016, Joe addressed the possibility of being deported in an exclusive interview with ET. Here's what he had to say:
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