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

This lawsuit seeks to compel government agencies to produce documents regarding family separation policies

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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

More Communities Say They Won’t Jail Immigrants for ICE

September 21, 2018

A growing number of communities are reevaluating their role in detaining immigrants on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Local officials in Atlanta, Georgia recently...

  • Blog

As Florence Hits US, Trump Administration Diverts Funds for Disaster Relief Towards Immigration Enforcement

September 14, 2018

As Hurricane Florence pummels the southeastern United States, newly released Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents show that a total of $200 million—including $10 million from the...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Proposes Regulations in ‘Flores’ to Detain Migrant Children Longer in Unsafe Conditions

September 6, 2018

The Trump administration is proposing new regulations to indefinitely detain immigrant children at the border and keep them in unsafe conditions, creating a false choice between separating...

  • Blog

Medical Neglect and Abuse Reported at Atlanta Immigration Detention Center

August 30, 2018

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently uses hundreds of detention centers throughout the country to hold individuals in immigration proceedings. Many of these facilities have a...

  • Blog

Asylum Seekers Challenge Spending Months Locked Up Without Interviews or Bond Hearings

August 24, 2018

Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” policy, aimed at punishing immigrants, including asylum seekers, who enter the United States without authorization. Among...

  • Blog

Government Coerced Parents into Signing Their Rights Away Before Being Reunited with Their Children

August 23, 2018

In all the chaos of family separation, another disturbing detail has come to light: immigration officials may have coerced vulnerable parents into signing away their right to be reunified with...

  • Blog

Detention Is Not the Solution to Family Separation: 15 Years of Government Data Explain Why

August 16, 2018

In the wake of the government separating thousands of asylum-seeking families, the Trump administration has scrambled to reunite families. In place of family separation, the administration is...

  • Blog

Family Separation, Harsh Enforcement Tactics Do Not Deter Migration

August 10, 2018

When the Trump administration began prosecuting migrant families and separating thousands of children from their parents, many in the administration predicted this would significantly deter...

  • Blog

The Family Reunification Deadline Passed. What’s Next for Separated Families?

July 27, 2018

The court-imposed deadline of July 26 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reunite families separated at the southern border has passed. So far, over 1800 children have been released...

  • Blog

Despite Bipartisan Amendments, House Committee Passes Enforcement-Focused Bill

July 26, 2018

The House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that provides the agency with its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins October 1, 2018. The...

  • Litigation

Stopping ICE From Unlawfully Detaining Immigrant Youth

This lawsuit challenged ICE’s practice of transferring unaccompanied minors who turn 18 years old to adult custody in the agency’s contracted jails and prisons, without considering less restrictive placements.
  • Press Release

ICE Unlawfully Detains Immigrant Youth: Federal Court Ruling

July 2, 2020
A federal court has ruled that the failure of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to consider less restrictive settings before transferring unaccompanied immigrant youth to ICE detention on their 18th birthdays violates U.S. immigration laws.
  • 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...

  • Press Release

New Report Reveals the Impact of COVID-19 Across the US Immigration System

May 27, 2020
The American Immigration Council's latest report examines major changes to the U.S. immigration system in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unique challenges the pandemic has created for noncitizens and government agencies.
  • 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...

  • Amicus Briefs

Council Files Amicus Brief Supporting the Release of Individuals from Immigration Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Publication Date: 
May 12, 2020
The American Immigration Council filed this amicus curiae brief in support of individuals who sought release from detention due to their significant risk of infection from COVID-19.
  • Press Release

Complaint Details ICE’s Failure to Protect Those in its Custody Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

May 7, 2020
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association , through their joint initiative the Immigration Justice Campaign, filed an oversight complaint with the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Office of the Inspector General highlighting the experiences of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 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.
  • Legal Resources and Litigation

Council Files Civil Rights Complaint Over Dangerous ICE Detention Policies During Coronavirus Pandemic

May 7, 2020
The complaint calls on oversight agencies to demand immediate action by ICE to help stop the spread of the coronavirus where social distancing is not possible, including:
  • FOIA Litigation

After Filing Suit, Council Releases Records Describing ICE’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The American Immigration Council filed a lawsuit after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to timely respond to the Council’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

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