Detention

Research and Analysis

The Biden Administration and Congress Must Guarantee Legal Representation for People Facing Removal

January 15, 2021

The Biden administration should take steps immediately upon entering office to expand federally funded legal representation programs for people facing removal. Here's why.

Fact Sheet

Prosecuting People for Coming to the United States

January 10, 2020

Over the last two decades, the federal government increasingly has utilized the criminal courts to punish people for immigration violations. This overview provides basic information about entry-...

Fact Sheet

The Institutional Hearing Program: An Overview

July 17, 2019

The Institutional Hearing Program permits immigration judges to conduct removal proceedings for noncitizens serving criminal sentences in certain correctional facilities.

Special Report

Detaining Families

August 16, 2018

This report presents findings from the first empirical analysis of asylum adjudication in family detention. Drawing on government data from over 18,000 immigration court proceedings initiated between...

Special Report

Divided by Detention: Asylum-Seeking Families’ Experiences of Separation

August 31, 2016

This report examines what happens when “family detention” does not actually keep loved ones together and profiles the experiences of five asylum-seeking families who are divided by detention.

Special Report

Detained Beyond the Limit

August 18, 2016

This report reveals that individuals are frequently held for days and sometimes even months in holding cells in Border Patrol sectors along the U.S.’ southwest border.

Special Report

Hieleras (Iceboxes) in the Rio Grande Valley Sector

December 17, 2015

These accounts reveal the dehumanizing conditions to which these women were subjected while in Border Patrol custody.

Special Report

A Humane Approach Can Work: The Effectiveness of Alternatives to Detention for Asylum Seekers

July 22, 2015

For decades, the U.S. refugee protection system has been a symbol of the nation’s generosity and openness to the world’s persecuted. Yet since Congress’ enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform...

Fact Sheet

Way Too Long: Prolonged Detention in Border Patrol Holding Cells, Government Records Show

June 10, 2015

Each year, the Border Patrol, a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), holds hundreds of thousands of people in detention facilities near the southern border that are...

Special Report

Locked Up Without End: Indefinite Detention of Immigrants Will Not Make America Safer

October 6, 2011

One of the ugliest myths in the immigration debate is that immigrants are more likely to commit crime or pose a danger to society. Although studies repeatedly have shown that immigrants are less...

FOIA

Demanding Records on the Unlawful Detention, Expulsion and Deportation of Migrant Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This request would show whether CBP is violating statutory protections intended for these youth.

Amicus Briefs

Stopping the Destruction of ICE's Records on Abuse and Mistreatment of People in Detention

August 7, 2020

In the amicus brief, the Council and partners documented the reliance on these records by researchers and advocates to monitor and expose troubling practices.

Amicus Briefs

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

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.

FOIA Litigation

Council Sues ICE to Make ICE COVID-19 Plans Public

The American Immigration Council filed a lawsuit after Immigrant Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to respond to a Freedom of Information...

Litigation

Stopping Policies Endangering Immigration Attorneys, Clients, and the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Council filed a lawsuit to close the immigration courts and ensure due process.

FOIA

Requesting ICE Records About Detained Individuals at Risk of Exposure to COVID-19

This request seeks information that will enhance the public’s understanding of steps ICE has taken to protect detained individuals from an outbreak of COVID-19.

Legal Resources and Litigation

Statement for the House Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, & Accountability "Hearing on Oversight of ICE Detention Facilities: Is DHS Doing Enough?"

September 25, 2019

This statement shares our knowledge about these problems and inform the Subcommittee of these systemic human rights and due process violations. We hope that our perspective provides insight context for this important hearing.

FOIA Litigation

FOIA Lawsuit Demands Release of Information on the Institutional Hearing Program

...

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...

FOIA

Family Separation FOIA Request

The requests ask for policies, guidelines, or procedures followed or used by the governmental agencies to address the processing and treatment of families at the U.S.-Mexico border and specifically, the separation of adult family members from minor children and the criminal prosecution of adult family members.

Practice Advisories

Introduction to Habeas Corpus

June 1, 2008

This Practice Advisory offers a short introduction to habeas corpus, addressing when and how a petitioner may file a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the immigration context.

Blog

How Biden Can Reform Immigration Enforcement and Detention

January 4, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. When the Biden administration takes...

Blog

Trump Administration Wants to Deny Work Permits to Some People Released From ICE Detention

November 18, 2020

The Trump administration announced on November 17 that it plans to start denying work permits to people who have been ordered deported, but who have been released from immigration custody because...

Blog

Making the Case for Ending Immigration Detention

November 11, 2020

Immigration detention was dangerous before President Trump took office four years ago. His policies—coupled with a deadly global pandemic—have only made the situation more dire. Immigration...

Blog

Hundreds of Cubans Who Cannot Be Deported Face Prolonged Detention

November 5, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage inside ICE detention centers, hundreds of Cubans who cannot be deported, continue to be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They...

Blog

‘We Had a Shortage Last Night of Beds for Babies.’ Congressional Report Reveals Cruelty, Chaos of Family Separation

October 30, 2020

Congress released the “first complete narrative” on the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on October 30. This hallmark of President Trump’s immigration legacy led to the forcible...

Blog

The Value of Pro Bono Legal Services in Immigration Detention

October 28, 2020

Once a year, National Pro Bono Week celebrates the pro bono work of lawyers, paralegals, and law students. Pro bono legal services—which come at no cost—are integral for many people otherwise left...

Blog

ICE Deported Cameroonian Immigrants Despite Protests and Congressional Intervention

October 14, 2020

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported a flight of approximately 100 African asylum seekers to their home countries, where they could face immediate arrest and death. Many of the...

Blog

Indigenous People Face Persistent Language Access Challenges in Immigration Detention

October 12, 2020

The effort to permanently replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day signifies a growing movement to honor the resilience and history of indigenous communities. The day presents an...

Blog

Immigrants Detained in California Win the Right to Sue Private Prison Companies

October 5, 2020

The multibillion-dollar private prison industry that operates immigration detention facilities—forcibly detaining tens of thousands of men, women and children—has come increasingly under fire in...

Blog

ICE Violates the Fourth Amendment When It Detains People Without Probable Cause, Court Rules

September 18, 2020

A federal appeals court recently ruled that the Fourth Amendment requires a neutral decisionmaker to review the detention of anyone held based on an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)...

Press Release

Federal Court Finds Conditions in Customs and Border Protection Detention Facilities Unconstitutional

February 19, 2020

A federal court ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to overhaul the way the agency detains people in its custody in the Tucson Sector. The court found that the conditions in CBP holding cells, especially those that preclude sleep over several nights, are presumptively punitive and violate the U.S. Constitution.

Press Release

Trial Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions in Customs and Border Protection's Facilities in Arizona Ends

January 23, 2020

During the course of the trial, a federal judge heard from qualified experts who testified on the inadequate medical care and severe conditions inside CBP detention centers.

Press Release

Increase in Border Prosecutions Will Separate More Families

May 7, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Thomas Homan announced today that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security will be stepping up prosecutions of individuals along the southern border—likely resulting in the criminalization of asylum seekers and more family separation.

Press Release

ICE Formalizes Inhumane Detention Policies for Pregnant Women

March 29, 2018

The practice of detaining pregnant women is inhumane and unsafe.

Press Release

ICE Settles Case Challenging Interference with Legal Representation at Dilley

August 16, 2017

The parties in Dilley Pro Bono Project v. ICE have reached a settlement that ensures access to mental health evaluations for certain detained mothers and children seeking asylum.

Press Release

Court Orders Government to Fix Inhumane Conditions in Border Patrol Holding Cells

November 18, 2016

A federal district court found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is violating the constitutional rights of people detained in holding facilities in Arizona and ordered the government to take steps to improve conditions in these facilities, known as hieleras.

Press Release

Court Orders Release of Graphic Photos of Arizona Border Patrol Detention Facilities and Damning Expert Witness Testimony

August 18, 2016

Today, groups made public damning evidence, including expert testimony and video stills illustrating the deplorable and unconstitutional conditions detained individuals are subjected to in Border Patrol custody in the agency’s Tucson Sector.

Press Release

Homeland Security Secretary Announces Changes to Family Detention Policies

July 20, 2016

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson released a statement on plans to make “substantial changes” to the agency’s family detention policies. The following is a statement, in response, from Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council.

Press Release

Court Again Rules Against Federal Government's Efforts to Detain Children

July 7, 2016

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association commented on the decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirming that the nearly 20-year-old Flores Settlement Agreement governs the custody and release of all immigrant children, and that the Obama Administration’s family detention practices violate that agreement.

Press Release

Court Orders Release of Some Evidence of Arizona Border Patrol Detention Facilities

June 27, 2016

A federal district court unsealed some of the photographs central to ongoing litigation challenging deplorable and unconstitutional conditions in Border Patrol detention facilities in the agency’s Tucson Sector. The court also allowed the Arizona Republic newspaper to intervene in the case to argue for the release of the documents.

Research and Analysis