ICE Hold/Detainer Requests: The BASICS

1. ICE Hold/Detainer Requests:The BASICS

2. Who is ICE? • ICE= Immigration and Customs Enforcement • Largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. • Their job: identifying, detaining, and deporting noncitizens in the US • 2009-ICE detained around 380,000 people in about 350 facilities across the country at a cost of more than $1.7 billion

3. Why should we care about ICE? • With a monstrous budget (5.82 billion for 2011) and expanded information-sharing technology, ICE seems to be everywhere. • In particular, ICE has increasingly co-opted the criminal justice system to achieve its immigration enforcement goals. • As a result, state and local police are very often the entry point into detention and deportation. This is where ICE holds come in…

4. What is an “ICE hold”? • An immigration detainer or ICE hold is a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to local law enforcement officials. • Asks local officials to detain an individual, after he or she is eligible for release. • Request that local enforcement agency keep the person in custody for 48 hours longer than they otherwise would, in order to facilitate transfer to ICE.

5. What IS currently happening to immigrants? • Undocumented person is engaged by the police • Local law enforcement agency (LLEA) asks for State ID or Driver’s License • Immigrant gets taken to jail • Jail contacts ICE (a.) ICE rep talks with the person over the phone, but does not issue a detainer request. (b.) ICE issues a detainer request

6. 5. The sheriff’s dept. and jail comply with the ICE detainer request 6. The person is held at the jail for up to 48 hours AFTER they are eligible for release to allow federal agents to pick him or her up. 7. The person is taken by ICE and put in a detention center. 8. Once there, they could be deported, agree to voluntarily leave the country or be released on bond until future proceedings.

7. For an undocumented person being booked for a minor offense, which would normally result in a few hours in jail, may instead lead to months of detention followed by deportation

8. Why does ICE issue detainers? • Most detainers are issued with the box checked saying that ICE has: Initiated an investigation to determine whether this person is subject to removal. • Detainer form makes no mention of the person’s specific immigration status • According to Sheriff Mike Emery: • “Decisions on whether an individual will be picked up by immigration are made by ICE and not shared with us”

9. Remember… an ICE detainer request is NOT: • Indication of undocumented or unlawful status • Evidence of removability or evidence that a person is deportable from the US • Authorization for ICE custody • Clear indication that ICE will take custody • Clear indication that ICE will initiate removal proceeding • The equivalent of a judicial warrant or a criminal detainer supported by a warrant • An arrest warrant (in most cases) • Probable cause of a crime or immigration violation • Evidence that a noncitizen has been deemed a danger to the community or a flight risk • A mandatory order

10. I’ve heard of Secure Communities, Is this the same thing? • The short answer: NO • In secure communities, local law enforcement uses biometrics and an electronic database to report directly to ICE • The long answer: There’s not much of a difference… • The use of ICE holds makes the relationship more indirect • But, the local law enforcement agency still serves as a pass-through of information to ICE, and helps ICE detain immigrants

11. Implication of ICE hold use For an undocumented person being booked for a minor offense, which would normally result in a few hours in jail, may instead lead to months of detention followed by deportation