Thread: Shifting noncitizens to faraway detention centers unfair SOB

Report: Shifting noncitizens to faraway detention centers unfair

The U.S. government's expanding practice of detaining noncitizens and transferring them to faraway detention facilities is coming under fire.

The group Human Rights Watch released a report this week that says the process for detaining and transferring noncitizens is unfair and needs to be changed.

The U.S. government is detaining growing numbers of noncitizens, including both legal and illegal immigrants, as part of beefed-up immigration enforcement.

The Human Rights Watch report says that as part of the increased detentions, the government is detaining growing numbers of noncitizens in cities such as Los Angeles and New York and then transferring them to remote detention facilities that are hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away in other states, including Arizona.

Arizona is a major hub for detaining noncitizens at facilities in Eloy and Florence.

The report says transferring detainees so far away from home traumatizes family members, especially children. It can also lead to wrongful deportations by making it hard for detainees to fight their legal case to remain in the U.S.

"Transfers impede their rights to challenge their detention, lead to unfair midstream changes in the interpretation of laws applied to their cases, and can ultimately lead to wrongful deportations," the report said.

Human Rights Watch examined previously unpublished data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The data, analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, found 1.4 million transfers between 1999 and 2008 and that the transfers more than doubled between 2003 and 2007, from 122,783 to 261,941.

"Many transfers are unnecessary and the harms avoidable," the report said.

The report called for numerous changes in immigration law and policies, including building detention facilities close to where most immigration arrests occur.

To read the report, go to: http://tinyurl.com/yfng4of

Vincent Picard, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix, said the agency is in the process of overhauling the immigration detention system.

The agency will soon submit a plan to Congress to implement an alternative detention program nationwide for low-risk individuals.

"These steps will not only enhance accountability and safety in our system, but will also reduce detainee transfers that can separate detainees from counsel and prolong their legal proceedings," he said.

--Daniel Gonzalez

Friday, December 4, 2009 at 10:05 AM

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/LiveWire/68816

"transferring detainees so far away from home traumatizes family members"...

what a bunch of "crap", we will be sending a strong message to DHS explaining that illegal immigrants originally "traumatized" their children and families in Mexico, Latin, and Central America when they illegally crossed into the U.S.....

If anyone ever told them that life would be fair

they lied to them. Get over it.

I have a great idea, as soon as its discovered they are illegal, ship them back, takes about a day! Saves us money, saves them trauma of being seperated they can revisit with family back home!

IDIOTS.. Who cares they are traumatized! They are here illegality and broke the law.

Originally Posted by cclarkkent

I have a great idea, as soon as its discovered they are illegal, ship them back, takes about a day! Saves us money, saves them trauma of being seperated they can revisit with family back home!

IDIOTS.. Who cares they are traumatized! They are here illegality and broke the law.

Federal law says that if they request an immigration hearing they have to go before a Federal judge and have a hearing. You can only deport them immediately if they agree to return home without a hearing.

To reiterate that point, unfortunately, it is not as simple to deport someone arrested away from the border like in NY or LA as most people think. Current law requires that an alien be afforded due process much like the Criminal Justice system. The only way to get rid of them fast is to pursuade them to waive their rights, the equivalent of pleading guilty to a criminal offense, and getting them to sign a Stipulated order of removal from the U.S. If they are apprehended less than 25 miles away from the border, they can be removed under an administrative expedited removal order, in which case they have no right to due process or to a hearing before an Immigration judge. Liberals and activists groups like La Raza have been spreading the word to the illegals not to sign any documents and to contest their deportation.

We need the laws changed for faster deportation!