Where is My Loved One Detained?
The Department of Homeland Security has broad discretion to choose the place of detention. Similarly, the Bureau of Prisons has broad discretion to determine the site of incarceration of persons subject to deportation, including local contract jails and prisons.
Pursuant to this policy, aliens are detained in several county prisons in Pennsylvania that are under contract with the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, if your relative was stopped for a traffic offense, DUI or other crime he may initially be detained in the county where he was arrested. Families with children are detained in The DHS Family Shelter in Berks County. The principal immigration detention facility is the York County Prison where there are three immigration courts in the facility itself. Please note that the aliens detained in the prisons do not appear on the published inmate list except if they are being detained for a crime, as opposed to an immigration violation. Here is a list of the county prisons that have held detained aliens for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Read more…
Immigration Detention Information Part 2
Immigration detention is the policy of holding individuals suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorized arrival in detention until a decision is made by immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of departure. Bad conduct is not a prerequisite for being detained. Additionally, for those aliens who are lawfully admitted, they may be detained and deported for violating their status or committing certain crimes. The United States engages in mandatory detention – – that is compulsory detention of certain classes of aliens without providing them with an individualized evaluation of risk to the community or flight. These are sometimes referred to as 236 (C) detainees after the section of the statute that provides the United States with such broad powers.
Bail and Release from Immigration Detention
A person subject to removal is generally entitled to be released on bond unless he is subject to mandatory detention on criminal or terrorist grounds, or is an arriving alien. However, a bond may be denied in the discretion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Immigration Judge. There is generally a presumption in favor of release unless the alien is subject to mandatory detention. The proper inquiry is whether a person is a risk of flight – – meaning that he might not show up at his next hearing, a danger to the community or national security risk. This inquiry must be factually based and not simply by virtue of the person’s status. However, the Attorney General – – and through him the immigration judge- – may decide to detain someone not only because the risk posed by that person, but also the effect that granting bail might otherwise have on national security. Thus, if a judge found that many individuals were fleeing to the United States and wanted to discourage the flight, he may hold on that basis all aliens from that country in detention. See 8 C.F.R. §§236.1(c)(8), 1236.1(c)(8) DHS must decide within 48 hours of the arrest or, in the case of an emergency or other extraordinary circumstance (e.g., the bombing of the World Trade Center), within an additional reasonable period of time, whether the person will be continued in custody or released. 8 C.F.R. §287.3(d). Before the entry of a final order of deportation, a party generally may seek release on bond.
If an alien is not subject to mandatory detention, he will appear before an immigration judge typically within two to three weeks after the arrest when he can request bail from an immigration judge. Once granted, an LPR or Cirizen will need to post the bail with a certified check or money order written to “US Department of Homeland Security” for the exact amount ordered by the Judge. Once bail is paid, the alien will be released.
What You Should Bring to Assist Your Attorney in Preparing a Bail Request
Just because your loved one is legally able to get bail, does not mean he will, and if granted, that it will be set at a level that will be appropriate for you to pay. In order to assist your attorney in preparing a bail request try to provide as much of the following information as you possibly can: Read more…
Who is Subject to Mandatory Detention
The INA mandates detention, without release, for virtually all persons who have committed crimes and persons removable on terrorist grounds. INA §236(c), only exempts persons who are a part of the Witness Protection Program or whose release will protect other witnesses.
INA §236(c) provides that the Attorney General shall detain and may not release the following categories of persons who are subject to removal: (a) persons who are inadmissible by reason of having committed any offense covered under INA §212(a)(2), (b) persons who are deportable by reason of having committed 2 or more Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude, an aggravated felony as defined under § 101(a)(43), a drug offense, a firearm offense, or a miscellaneous crime as defined in INA §237(a)(2)(D), such as espionage, sabotage, or treason for which a term of imprisonment of 5 years or more may be imposed, threatening the President in violation of 18 U.S.C. §871, violating the Neutrality Act under 18 U.S.C. §960, violating the Selective Service Act or Trading with the Enemies Act, committing travel control crimes under 8 U.S.C. §1185, or importing a person for an immoral purpose under 8 U.S.C. §1328, (c) persons who have committed a CIMT for which the sentence of imprisonment is at least one year; or (d) persons involved in terrorist activity. ICE takes these individuals into custody when the alien is released on parole, supervised release, or probation, and without regard to whether the alien may be arrested or imprisoned again for the same offense.