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_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

 

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Immigration-Related Detention: Current Legislative Issues

Chad C. Haddal, Analyst in Immigration Policy

Alison Siskin, Specialist in Immigration Policy

January 27, 2010

http://opencrs.com/document/RL32369/2010-01-27/download/1013/

[full-text, 17 pages]

 

Summary

As Congress considers reforming the nation’s immigration system, the detention of noncitizens in

the United States will likely be an issue. Under the law, there is broad authority to detain aliens

while awaiting a determination of whether the noncitizen should be removed from the United

States. The law also mandates that certain categories of aliens are subject to mandatory detention

(i.e., the aliens must be detained). Aliens subject to mandatory detention include those arriving

without documentation or with fraudulent documentation, those who are inadmissable or

deportable on criminal grounds, those who are inadmissable or deportable on national security

grounds, those certified as terrorist suspects, and those who have final orders of deportation.

Aliens not subject to mandatory detention may be detained, paroled, or released on bond. The

priorities for detention of these aliens are specified in statute and regulations. In FY2008, on an

average day, 31,244 noncitizens were in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.

 

There are many policy issues surrounding detention of aliens. The Illegal Immigrant Reform and

Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) increased the number of aliens subject to

mandatory detention, and raised concerns about the justness of mandatory detention, especially as

it is applied to asylum seekers arriving without proper documentation. Additionally, the increase

in the number of mandatory detainees has raised concerns about the amount of detention space

available to house DHS detainees. Some contend that decisions on which aliens to release from

detention and when to release aliens from detention may be based on the amount of detention

space, not on the merits of individual cases.

 

Another issue is the Attorney General’s role in the detention of noncitizens. The creation of DHS

moved the administration of detention of noncitizens from the Department of Justice’s

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to DHS’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs

Enforcement (ICE). Nonetheless, it can be argued that the language in the Homeland Security Act

of 2002 (P.L. 107-296; HSA) has left the Attorney General with concurrent authority over

immigration law, including the authority to arrest, detain, and release aliens.

 

The 108th Congress passed P.L. 108-458, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of

2004, directing the Secretary of DHS to increase the amount of detention bed space by not less

than 8,000 beds for each year, FY2006 through FY2010. Although Congress increased the bed

space between FY2006 and FY2010, the number of beds has only increased by approximately

12,000.

In the 111th Congress, bills have been introduced covering a range of provisions and perspectives

concerning the detention of noncitizens. Several bills—including S. 1505, H.R. 994, H.R. 2406,

and H.R. 3308—would mandate that DHS increase the amount of detention space. In addition,

other bills (e.g., H.R. 1215 and S. 1594) would codify certain policies at detention facilities, such

as access to telephones and medical care, and expand the alternatives to detention program. Other

bills, such as H.R. 264, would eliminate the mandatory detention of asylum seekers in expedited

removal. This report will be updated as legislative action occurs.

 

Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1

Overview of Noncitizen Detention ..............................................................................................1

Changes in Authorities with the Creation of the Department of Homeland Security ..............1

Statutory Authority for Detention ..........................................................................................3

Local Law Enforcement .................................................................................................5

Mandatory Detention ............................................................................................................5

Post-removal Order Detention.........................................................................................6

Expedited Removal and Detention ..................................................................................8

Release on Parole and Bond ..................................................................................................9

Rights of the Detained.........................................................................................................10

Detention Statistics ................................................................................................................... 11

Detention Population........................................................................................................... 11

Detention Space and Cost....................................................................................................12

Alternatives to Detention...............................................................................................13

Legislation in the 111th Congress ...............................................................................................14

Figures

Figure 1. Daily Detention Population, FY1994-FY2010 ............................................................12

Contacts

Author Contact Information ......................................................................................................14

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
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