Detention

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

COMPLAINT
Complaint Urges Investigation Into Misuse of Solitary Confinement in Colorado Immigration Detention Center

We demand an investigation into ICE's use of solitary confinement to punish and control people detained at the Aurora Detention Center in Colorado.

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FACT SHEET
Alternatives to Immigration Detention: An Overview

The United States can and should implement alternatives to detention that serve to reduce the overall detention population.

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All Detention Content

  • Blog

Members of Congress Report on Texas Family Detention Center Visits

June 24, 2015

Earlier this week, eight Democratic House Members took a trip to Dilley and Karnes, Texas to visit two immigrant family detention facilities and meet with women and children detained there. Dozens...

  • Blog

Immigrants Kept for Days in Border Patrol’s Bedless Holding Cells

June 10, 2015

Every day, over a thousand individuals are held in Border Patrol detention facilities near the U.S. southern border. These facilities are notorious for freezing cold temperatures, overcrowded...

  • Blog

Calls to End Family Detention Come From Capitol Hill

June 2, 2015

Over the past year, the Obama Administration has rapidly propped up family detention facilities as a knee-jerk response to the influx of women and children who crossed our southern border last...

  • Blog

Court Reportedly Set to Order End to Detention of Children in Unlicensed Family Facilities

May 14, 2015

In February, advocates went to court to argue that the government’s family detention centers violate the long-standing Flores v. Reno settlement agreement, which set minimum standards for the...

  • Blog

Two Moms Spend Mother’s Day Traveling to Immigration Family Detention Center

May 13, 2015

By Karen Lucas, Legislative Associate at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Beth Werlin, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council. On Mother’s Day morning, we said...

  • Blog

Reports: Detention Doesn’t Deter Migrants and Refugees From Coming to United States

May 8, 2015

In 2009, the Obama Administration ended family detention at the infamous T. Don Hutto jail in Texas and cut the number of immigrants in family detention to less than a hundred. However, after the...

  • Blog

Mothers and Children Suffer In Immigration Detention While Administration Makes its Point

April 27, 2015

Estrella is a four-year-old girl who has been locked-up in U.S. detention centers for over eight months or one fifth of her life. She is chronically ill and has been hospitalized for acute...

  • Blog

Private Prison Industry Lobbies for Detention of Immigrants

April 22, 2015

Since 2009, Congress has instructed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to maintain 34,000 beds in immigrant detention facilities across the country, a policy known as “the bed...

  • Blog

New York Times Exposes ‘Shame of America’s Family Detention Camps’

February 9, 2015

The New York Times details the government’s dangerous and expanding practice of detaining women and children who have recently crossed our southwest border in the magazine’s cover story this...

  • Blog

A Compelling Case Study in Family Detention and Pro Bono Counsel

January 30, 2015

When the family detention center in Artesia, New Mexico, was hastily propped up by the U.S. government in order to detain and rapidly process women and children for deportation, immigration rights...

  • Blog

In a Decision Strongly Rebuking ICE, Court Orders the Release of Ravi Ragbir

January 30, 2018

  Following the contentious arrest of immigrant activist Ravi Ragbir, a federal district court ordered his immediate release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention on Monday. The...

  • Blog

Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen Struggles With the Facts at Senate Oversight Hearing

January 19, 2018

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, where she was grilled by Senators on negotiations around Deferred Action...

  • Litigation

Challenging Immigration Judges' Refusal to Conduct Bond Hearings

This lawsuit challenges the actions of immigration judges in Charlotte, North Carolina who have refused to conduct bond hearings for people who properly file bond motions with the Charlotte Immigration Court.
  • Blog

Court Rules Detained Iraqis Are Entitled to Bond Hearings

January 5, 2018

In another victory for over 300 Iraqis whose deportation was halted last July, a Michigan district court ruled that they must be permitted to seek bond while their immigration cases are pending....

  • Blog

Three Year Anniversary of Family Detention Center Is Sad Reminder of America’s Cruelest Immigration Policy Practice

December 20, 2017

December marks the three-year anniversary of the opening of the country’s largest family detention center for non-citizen mothers and their minor children located in Dilley, Texas. Referred to as...

  • Blog

Homeland Security Watchdog Conducts Surprise Inspections of Immigrant Detention Centers

December 15, 2017

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) released a report which found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention facilities are violating their...

  • Blog

How Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Turns Immigrants Into Criminals

November 6, 2017

It has been well established for decades that the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, immigrants who have committed no violent offense are often...

  • Blog

White House Immigration Principles Are Released as DACA Deal Looms

October 10, 2017

The White House released its Immigration Principles and Policies late Sunday night, providing an outline of the Trump administration’s proposals on immigration. The principles were sent to...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Likely to Decide Constitutionality of Immigration Detention Without Bond

October 3, 2017

When the Supreme Court hears arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, the Justices will tackle a question eight of them considered in 2016: whether the Constitution allows the government to detain...

  • Blog

Why Are More Pregnant Women Being Held in ICE Detention?

September 26, 2017

Pregnant women held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody are required to be released, as detention frequently leads to extreme stress, depression, and in some cases,...

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