Teresa Giudice's Husband Joe Files Appeal After Deportation Ruling

Joe Giudice, the husband of The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice, isn't leaving the country without a fight.

On Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, the Italian native, who may be removed from the United States following his current prison sentence, filed a last-minute appeal after last month's deportation ruling, Entertainment Tonight reports.

According to a Department of Justice spokesperson, "Executive Office for Immigration Review records show that its appellate component, the Board of Immigration Appeals, received an appeal Nov. 9, 2018, pertaining to Giuseppe Giudice's Oct. 10, 2018, removal order." 

Meanwhile, Joe's attorney, James Leonard Jr., has since released a statement on the matter to E! News, which read, "The appeal has been filed and we remain optimistic that Joe will soon be home with his family where he belongs. We are extremely grateful for Joe's immigration attorneys Jerry Gonzales and Tom Moseley and are very confident in them."

At the time of this writing, Teresa has yet to publicly comment on her husband's latest legal news.

As Nicki Swift previously reported, Pennsylvania's York Immigration Court ruled on Oct. 10, 2018, that Joe would be deported to his home country upon his release from federal prison on March 14, 2019. At the time of the ruling, it was revealed that the 46-year-old, who's currently serving a 41-month sentence for mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud, would have 30 days to appeal the court's decision.

Speculation that Joe risked deportation due to his legal trouble has followed the Giudices around for years. The married pair, who tied the knot in 1999, share four daughters together: Gia, 17, Gabriella, 14, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 9. For her part, Teresa, also 46, publicly addressed her husband's potential deportation for the first time on camera in late October — amid ongoing divorce rumors. "No, we're gonna be a family, and we're gonna fight this and get through this," she told ET at the time, adding, "We're gonna take it day by day. We're gonna take it one step at a time ... First, we're gonna process the paperwork to do an appeal, and we're gonna get through that."

The Bravo star, who was released from prison early in December 2015 after serving an 11-month stint for the same charges, went on to say, "I can't predict the future, and ... I'm gonna be positive about it."