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CLINIC COMMENDS DHS OFFICE FOR REPORT ON REMOVAL OF ALIENS
Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General Confirms CLINIC’s Findings
March 22, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC – The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) welcomes a new government report reviewing the detention
of aliens who have received removal (deportation) orders but whose countries will not accept their return. Many of the shortcomings
that the report identifies relate to the treatment of so-called DHS “lifers.” These findings mirror previous findings by CLINIC.
In particular, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s (ICE) compliance with two U.S. Supreme Court rulings. The Supreme Court held that detainees generally should not be
detained for longer than six months while ICE works to remove them from the United States.
ICE’s own rules require “custody reviews” to take place at the 90- and 180-day mark, and for detainees to be released under ICE
supervision if prompt deportation is not possible. The OIG study found that the “required custody decisions were not made in over 6
percent of cases [it reviewed], and were not timely in over 19 percent of cases.”
The report, “ICE's Compliance With Detention Limits for Aliens With a Final Order of Removal From the United States,” echoes several
concerns CLINIC has expressed since it began tracking these issues in 2001. For example, the OIG study found that ICE failed to
provide detainees with prior notice of custody reviews, information about how they can cooperate in removal efforts, or decisions that
clearly explain why supervised release has been denied. OIG attributed many of these failures to inadequate staffing at local ICE Field
Office levels, and at the ICE Headquarters level, which leads to insufficient oversight of local custody decisions.
To support its evaluation, the OIG report cited an independent CLINIC study published in 2005. It found that the same “conditions, such
as remote detention facilities, local cooperation, record keeping, staffing, and communication” were “problems contributing to prolonged
detention.” The report cited CLINIC’s conclusion that “ICE was not uniformly complying with [post-order custody review] regulations.”
CLINIC’s Executive Director Donald Kerwin stated, “this report provides an important blueprint for fixing the malfunctioning detention
system.” He added, “detaining deportees for excessive periods of time has humanitarian repercussions, harms families, and costs
taxpayers needlessly.” Over 1,000 detainees are held in indefinite detention at an average cost to the taxpayer of $95 per day.
###
CLINIC’s 2005 Report: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Systemic Problems Persist In U.S. ICE Custody Reviews for “Indefinite”
Detainees, Kathleen Glynn, Sarah Bronstein, 2005. (Read the Executive Summary)
Read the OIG report.
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), a subsidiary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is the nation’s largest
network of charitable immigration services with 161 affiliates in 262 field offices around the country. CLINIC advocates for transparent,
fair, and generous immigration policies.
Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General Confirms CLINIC’s Findings
March 22, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC – The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) welcomes a new government report reviewing the detention
of aliens who have received removal (deportation) orders but whose countries will not accept their return. Many of the shortcomings
that the report identifies relate to the treatment of so-called DHS “lifers.” These findings mirror previous findings by CLINIC.
In particular, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s (ICE) compliance with two U.S. Supreme Court rulings. The Supreme Court held that detainees generally should not be
detained for longer than six months while ICE works to remove them from the United States.
ICE’s own rules require “custody reviews” to take place at the 90- and 180-day mark, and for detainees to be released under ICE
supervision if prompt deportation is not possible. The OIG study found that the “required custody decisions were not made in over 6
percent of cases [it reviewed], and were not timely in over 19 percent of cases.”
The report, “ICE's Compliance With Detention Limits for Aliens With a Final Order of Removal From the United States,” echoes several
concerns CLINIC has expressed since it began tracking these issues in 2001. For example, the OIG study found that ICE failed to
provide detainees with prior notice of custody reviews, information about how they can cooperate in removal efforts, or decisions that
clearly explain why supervised release has been denied. OIG attributed many of these failures to inadequate staffing at local ICE Field
Office levels, and at the ICE Headquarters level, which leads to insufficient oversight of local custody decisions.
To support its evaluation, the OIG report cited an independent CLINIC study published in 2005. It found that the same “conditions, such
as remote detention facilities, local cooperation, record keeping, staffing, and communication” were “problems contributing to prolonged
detention.” The report cited CLINIC’s conclusion that “ICE was not uniformly complying with [post-order custody review] regulations.”
CLINIC’s Executive Director Donald Kerwin stated, “this report provides an important blueprint for fixing the malfunctioning detention
system.” He added, “detaining deportees for excessive periods of time has humanitarian repercussions, harms families, and costs
taxpayers needlessly.” Over 1,000 detainees are held in indefinite detention at an average cost to the taxpayer of $95 per day.
###
CLINIC’s 2005 Report: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Systemic Problems Persist In U.S. ICE Custody Reviews for “Indefinite”
Detainees, Kathleen Glynn, Sarah Bronstein, 2005. (Read the Executive Summary)
Read the OIG report.
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), a subsidiary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is the nation’s largest
network of charitable immigration services with 161 affiliates in 262 field offices around the country. CLINIC advocates for transparent,
fair, and generous immigration policies.
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media inquiries:
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Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
202.635.2649 fax
media inquiries:
e-mail me
(202) 635-5810
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media inquiries: Melissa Williams
Media Relations Coordinator
(202) 635-5810
Media Relations Coordinator
(202) 635-5810