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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FACT SHEET
U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement

Deportations of parents and family members have serious consequences that affect children and extend to communities and the country as a whole.

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All Detention Content

  • Blog

ICE Makes It Almost Impossible for People to Make Phone Calls from Detention Centers, Even in a Pandemic

August 27, 2020

Communication with the outside world is crucial for people in jail. This includes individuals facing deportation while detained in immigration detention centers, who do not have the right to court...

  • Blog

Congress Calls to Decrease ICE Detention as COVID-19 Continues to Spread

July 8, 2020

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security introduced their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (beginning October 1, 2020) this week. The budget would have significant...

  • Blog

Court Orders ICE to End Its Practice of Unlawfully Detaining Immigrant Youth

July 6, 2020

Immigrant children who arrive in the United States without a parent are placed in shelters or foster care while their guardianship and immigration process play out. But all too often, U.S....

  • Blog

Court-Ordered Release of Children May Lead to Family Separation

June 29, 2020

Federal Judge Dolly Gee has ordered that children held for more than 20 days at U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) family detention centers must be released. The order was the latest...

  • Blog

ICE Tells Parents to Separate From Their Children or Risk Indefinite Detention Together

May 19, 2020

When the Trump administration implemented mass family separation in 2018, the American public was outraged. Two years later, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is using a different...

  • Blog

What ICE Must Do Following the First Coronavirus Death in Its Custody

May 7, 2020
ICE must stop transferring people—some of whom may already have COVID-19—across the country between detention centers.
  • Blog

ICE Faces Lawsuit Over Blocking Phone Access to Detainees

May 4, 2020

A free phone call can mean the difference between a fair day in court and being deported to harm—or worse—for individuals held in immigration detention centers. Immigrants may not be able to meet...

  • Blog

The US Government Can Now Collect DNA From Thousands of People Who Have Never Committed a Crime

April 28, 2020

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) proposed rule mandating the collection of DNA from nearly all immigrants in government custody became final on April 8, 2020. For the first time in U.S. history,...

  • Blog

Fearing Coronavirus, People in ICE Custody Ask the Courts to Order Their Release

April 27, 2020

Medical experts and government officials urge people to social distance to avoid contracting the coronavirus. Yet, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to hold tens of thousands of...

  • Blog

US Endangers Other Countries by Deporting People With the Coronavirus

April 22, 2020

Countries around the world that still have few coronavirus cases are bracing themselves for the spread of the pandemic. Many have restricted international arrivals to prevent a surge in cases like...

  • Press Release

Just-Released Customs and Border Protection Standards Still Lack Accountability

October 5, 2015

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S.

  • Press Release

Coercion and Intimidation of Detained Mothers and Children Must Stop

September 30, 2015

Today, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the American Immigration Lawyers As

  • Press Release

Obama Administration Again Hands Families Over to Private Prison Company

September 18, 2015

Washington, DC – Today, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the America

  • Press Release

Department of Justice's Shameful Attempt to Pretty up Family Detention Comes up Woefully Short

August 27, 2015

Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (Council) are outraged by the U.S.

  • Press Release

Court Orders Prompt Release of Immigrant Children from Family Detention

August 24, 2015

Washington, D.C. - The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (Council) welcome a decision released Friday evening by U.S.

  • Press Release

Deplorable Medical Treatment at Family Detention Centers

July 30, 2015
Ten mothers came forward to lodge formal complaints about the substandard medical care they and their children received while detained by the Department of Homeland of Security.
  • Press Release

Incarcerated Children and Mothers Denied Due Process and Critical Information Before Release

July 27, 2015

Washington, D.C. – Today, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the Ameri

  • Press Release

Vaccine Overdose to Detained Children Another Sign that Family Detention Must End

July 4, 2015

Washington D.C. - This weekend, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (Council) learned that, recently, medical personnel at the detention

  • Press Release

United States Agrees to Settle Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Deportation

July 2, 2015
  • Press Release

Immigrants Held for Days in Freezing, Unsanitary Cells File Class-Action Lawsuit

June 10, 2015

Washington D.C. — Tucson Sector Border Patrol holds men, women, and children in freezing, overcrowded, and filthy cells for extended periods of time in violation of the U.S.

  • Blog

DHS Watchdog Recommends Immediate Action to Address Horrific Conditions in ICE Detention

March 22, 2022

In an unprecedented move, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) watchdog agency—the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)—just recommended that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE...

  • Press Release

Immigrant Rights Groups Call for the Immediate Release of People Detained in Torrance County Detention Facility

March 18, 2022
In a damning report citing unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico released today by DHS's oversight body urged ICE to immediately remove and relocate people detained at the ICE immigration detention center located in Estancia, New Mexico.
  • Blog

COVID-19 Rates in ICE Detention Are at Record Highs. Advocates Are Demanding an Investigation.

February 14, 2022

The Omicron variant has spread through immigration detention like wildfire, with a record 14% of people in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody testing positive for COVID-19 as...

  • Complaints

Council Files Complaint Against ICE for Medical Neglect of People Sick With COVID-19 in Colorado Facility

Publication Date: 
February 11, 2022
The American Immigration Council filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security's oversight bodies urging an investigation into a COVID-19 outbreak—including threats of retaliation...
  • Letters

Coalition Asks Inspectors General to Review Implementation of Biden Executive Order Against Private Prisons

Publication Date: 
February 9, 2022
The Council joined other organizations in calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Offices of the Inspectors General to formally review the implementation...
  • Blog

Leaked Photos Reveal Inhumane Conditions in Border Processing Centers

January 14, 2022

New leaked photos of Border Patrol stations in Yuma, Arizona show Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) inhumane treatment of people apprehended at the border— revealing that years of overcrowded...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Addressing the Legality of Detention Without Bond

January 12, 2022

Written by Caroline Walters and Kate Melloy Goettel  This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two related immigration cases. Each asks whether certain noncitizens are entitled to bond...

  • Blog

Immigration Detention and Enforcement Are a Mixed Bag in Biden’s First Year

December 17, 2021

Immigration detention and enforcement in the United States under the first year of the Biden administration has been a mixture of improvements and setbacks. The Trump administration implemented...

  • Fact Sheet

The Institutional Hearing Program: An Overview

Publication Date: 
November 29, 2021
The Institutional Hearing Program permits immigration judges to conduct removal proceedings for noncitizens serving criminal sentences in certain correctional facilities.
  • Complaints

Council and Partners File Oversight Complaint on Violations of Due Process and Inhumane Conditions at Torrance County Detention Facility

Publication Date: 
November 23, 2021

The American Immigration Council, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), ACLU of New Mexico, Innovation Law Lab, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild filed...

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