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

  • FOIA Litigation

FOIA Lawsuit Demands Release of Information on the Institutional Hearing Program

This FOIA lawsuit sought information from the EOIR on the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP), which it runs jointly with ICE and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
  • Advocacy

Inadequate Medical Care at Colorado Immigration Detention Continues

June 11, 2019
New evidence shows the woefully inadequate medical and mental health care in an immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado. Here are some of the detainees’ experiences we documented:
  • Amicus Briefs

United States v. Hernandez-Becerra - Ninth Circuit

Publication Date: 
April 19, 2019
In this case, the Federal Defenders of San Diego argue that the court should have conducted a deeper inquiry into the voluntariness of a guilty plea offered by 18-year-old Claudia Hernandez-Becerra because she spent three days detained in an “hielera” before her arraignment for entering the United States without permission.
  • Advocacy

Complaint Urges Immediate Release of Infants from Immigration Detention

February 28, 2019
Numerous babies under the age of one—and some as young as six months old—are being detained in immigration detention at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
  • Amicus Briefs

ACLU v. DHS - Ninth Circuit

Publication Date: 
January 10, 2019

The American Immigration Council and the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program and Boston University School of Law filed an amicus brief in ACLU v. DHS, a Freedom of Information...

  • Advocacy

Comments Opposing Proposed Regulation Barring Asylum to Those Entering Between US Ports of Entry

January 7, 2019

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) submitted a joint comment opposing the “Interim Final Rule: Aliens Subject to a Bar on Entry Under...

  • Advocacy

Regulatory Comments Opposing the Indefinite Detention of Children

November 6, 2018
The Trump administration proposed new regulations undermining the 1997 Flores settlement agreement. If the proposed regulations are finalized, they would weaken protections for children and place them at greater risk of trauma and mistreatment.
  • Advocacy

Statement for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Hearing on "The Implications of Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement for Border Security and Illegal Immigration Incentives"

September 18, 2018

The American Immigration Council and American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted a written statement to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and...

  • Advocacy

The Illegal and Systematic Practice of Coercing Separated Families Must Be Investigated

August 23, 2018

The Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy led to not only to the forcible separation of thousands of children from their parents, but the extreme duress and coercion of...

  • Legal Resources and Litigation

Statement for Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing “Oversight of Immigration Enforcement and Family Reunification Efforts.”

July 31, 2018
The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for a July 31, 2018 hearing on “Oversight of Immigration Enforcement and Family Reunification Efforts.”
  • Blog

ICE Needs a Consistent System of Discretionary Release from Detention

October 13, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need to establish clear guidance for when ICE should release someone from detention. So far, the Biden...

  • Blog

California Law Would Prevent Transfers From Local Law Enforcement to ICE Custody

September 9, 2021

Proposed legislation in California that would further limit the state’s involvement in immigration detention has made progress toward becoming law. The VISION Act would prevent transfers to U.S....

  • Blog

TX Court Issues Stunning Order: US Government Can’t Set Priorities for Immigration Enforcement

August 20, 2021

Judge Drew Tipton of the Southern District of Texas on August 19 blocked a set of enforcement priorities the Biden administration had issued in January and February 2021 in an attempt to focus...

  • Blog

New Illinois Law Expected to Go Furthest Toward Ending Immigration Detention in the US

August 10, 2021

A new Illinois law limiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention is expected to effectively end detention in the state by next year. The law goes further than those that have...

  • Blog

ICE Will Stop Arresting and Detaining Most Pregnant and Nursing People

July 9, 2021

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will no longer detain most people who are pregnant, postpartum, or nursing, according to a new policy released on July 9. However, ICE did not commit...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Denies Bond Hearings to People Pursuing Protection Claims Who Have Prior Removal Orders

June 30, 2021

The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 29 in the Johnson v. Guzman Chavez case. The majority of the justices determined that people with prior removal orders are subject to mandatory...

  • Blog

ICE Spread COVID-19 Across the Country, Not Just in Immigration Detention Centers

May 26, 2021

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mishandled the coronavirus outbreak in detention centers so badly that it not only lead to horrific conditions and deaths among people in its custody...

  • Blog

It’s Time for Real Alternatives to Immigration Detention

May 7, 2021

Every year the U.S. government locks up thousands of non-citizens in a prison system few Americans know about—the immigration detention system. Though immigration detention is termed “civil”...

  • Blog

Firsthand Experiences Inside ICE Facilities During the Pandemic Underscore Why Immigration Detention Should be Abolished

April 22, 2021

This blog is the second in a three-part series examining President Biden’s first 100 days in office from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Many of us will always vividly remember the fear and lack...

  • Blog

The First 100 Days: Biden on Immigration Detention

April 20, 2021

This blog is the first in a three-part series from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Reflecting on his release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Thomas,* a man who fled...

  • Press Release

Government Data Reveals the Inner Workings of the U.S. Immigration Detention System

December 5, 2018
A report on immigration detention examines the United States’ complex, sprawling network of facilities used to detain immigrants. The report, “The Landscape of Immigration Detention in the United States,” reveals that detained individuals were commonly held in facilities operated by private entities and located in remote areas, far away from basic community support structures and legal advocacy networks.
  • Press Release

Immigrant Rights Groups Demand Timely Bond Hearings and Legal Protections for Asylum Seekers

September 21, 2018
Yesterday, plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the U.S. government’s targeted efforts to obstruct asylum seekers filed a motion for preliminary injunction demanding timely bond hearings that comport with due process.
  • Press Release

American Immigration Council Condemns Administration's Proposal to Indefinitely Detain Children

September 6, 2018
The Trump administration proposed new regulations that could lead to the indefinite detention—and needless suffering—of asylum-seeking children.
  • Press Release

Complaint Details Coercive Tactics Used by Immigration Officials on Separated Parents

August 23, 2018
The complaint points to numerous examples, including that of Mrs. D.P., who was separated from her 9-year-old daughter for 47 days as a result of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' "zero-tolerance" border policy.
  • Press Release

15 Years of Government Data Reveals that Jailing Families in Detention Obstructs a Fair Court Process

August 16, 2018
As government officials and policymakers weigh the potential expansion of family detention, this report reveals how detention impacts asylum-seeking families and their claims for protection.
  • Press Release

American Immigration Council's Statement on the Trump Administration's Failure to Reunite Separated Families

July 26, 2018
"The government’s failure to comply with the court order to reunify the thousands of separated children and parents confirms the administration’s utter disregard for the humane and fair treatment of families coming to our country in search of protection."
  • Press Release

DHS Secretary Nielsen Meets with Immigration and Human Rights Groups for First Time, Reiterates Trump Administration’s Misinformation and Sidesteps Family Immigration Crisis

July 9, 2018
Leaders of several immigrant and human rights organizations were invited for the first time under the Trump administration to meet with Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Demands Trump Administration Hand Over Family Separation Policies and Procedures

June 27, 2018
The lawsuit asks the court to compel the agencies to produce family separation documents in response to FOIA requests submitted in April.
  • Press Release

American Immigration Council's Statement on Trump's Executive Order on Family Separation

June 20, 2018
President Donald Trump signed an executive order today to try to stem criticism of his family separation policy. He has offered an unacceptable alternative: imprisoning mothers and fathers with their children.
  • Press Release

Complaint Filed with DHS Oversight Bodies Calls for Improvements to Medical and Mental Health Care of Immigrants in Aurora Detention Center

June 4, 2018
The complaint, filed on behalf of individuals who are and were detained at the Aurora facility, highlights the ways in which weak, insufficient medical practices threaten the health and well-being of detainees and directly impact their ability to pursue their immigration and asylum claims.
  • Press Release

Biden Administration Expands Use of Title 42 and Proposes New Asylum Ban, In Exchange for Creation of Alternate Pathways for Migration and New Methods of Seeking Asylum at Ports of Entry

January 5, 2023
The American Immigration Council responds to new announced a series of border policy reforms, including a variant of President Trump's asylum "Transit Ban", from the Biden administration.
  • Blog

ICE Makes Paying Bond Extremely Difficult. This Lawsuit Wants to Change That.

December 13, 2022

One might think that posting bond in the immigration system is a straightforward process. Immigration authorities set bond. A person pays the bond amount, and the incarcerated person is released....

  • Practice Advisories

A Guide to Obtaining Detention Records

Publication Date: 
December 13, 2022
Our comprehensive guide on obtaining detention records provides a brief overview of FOIA requirements, information about the types of records government agencies possess, tips about how to request those records, and an overview of what to expect after submitting the request.
  • Blog

Infamous Immigration Detention Center Closes, But More Work Needs to Be Done

December 9, 2022

After years of advocacy and widespread abuse, Berks County officials announced that the federal government was ending its contract for the Berks County detention center on January 31, 2023....

  • Press Release

Advocates File Lawsuit to Demand That ICE Make Immigration Bond Procedures Publicly Available on Its Website

December 8, 2022
The Council alongside other advocates has filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to publish on its website guidelines and procedures explaining how the agency processes bonds for the release of individuals in detention.
  • Blog

ICE Fails to Justify Solitary Confinement Placements and Identify Vulnerable Populations

November 8, 2022

Solitary confinement is widely criticized as a cruel and unnecessary practice. It’s largely unsupported by the public as a disciplinary measure and badly in need of reform. On October 26, the...

  • Blog

New Report Shows Disproportionate Abuse of Black Immigrants in Detention

November 4, 2022

Black immigrants in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) disproportionately face abuse while in detention, a report released last week finds. Published by several...

  • Blog

Legal Service Providers Sue to Remove Barriers to Access to Counsel in Immigration Detention

October 13, 2022

Legal service organizations have sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for preventing people jailed at four immigration detention centers from having meaningful access to their...

  • Press Release

Legal Organizations Sue ICE for Illegally Preventing Attorneys from Communicating with Detained Immigrants in Four States

October 13, 2022
Several legal services organizations filed a lawsuit today against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for unlawfully preventing attorneys from communicating with immigrants detained in four detention facilities in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona.
  • Litigation

Challenging the Government’s Barriers to Access to Counsel in Immigration Detention Centers

This lawsuit challenges ICE's policies that have made it extremely difficult—and in many cases impossible—for people in immigration detention to access their attorneys.

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