INTER‐AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 78/10 30 December 2010 Original: English REPORT ON IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES: DETENTION AND DUE PROCESS 2010 Internet: http://www.cidh.org E‐mail: [email protected] OAS Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data Informe sobre inmigración en Estados Unidos: Detenciones y debido proceso = Report on immigration in the United States: Detention and due process / [Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights.] p. ; cm. (OEA documentos oficiales ; OEA/Ser.L)(OAS official records ; OEA/Ser.L) ISBN 978‐0‐8270‐5579‐7 1. Aliens‐‐United States. 2. Civil rights‐‐United States. 3. Human rights‐‐United States. 4. Justice, Administration of‐‐United States. 5. Migrant labor‐‐United States. I. Inter‐ American Commission on Human Rights. II Series. III. Series. OAS official records ; OEA/Ser.L. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.78/10 Document published thanks to the financial support of Spain. Positions herein expressed are those of the Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights and do not reflect the views of Spain. Approved by the Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights on December 30, 2010 INTER‐AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS MEMBERS Felipe González Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro Dinah Shelton Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero María Silvia Guillén José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez Rodrigo Escobar Gil ****** Executive Secretary: Santiago A. Canton Assistant Executive Secretary: Elizabeth Abi‐Mershed REPORT ON IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES: DETENTION AND DUE PROCESS TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................1 II. DRAFT REPORT AND RESPONSE OF THE UNITED STATES.........................................6 III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS...........................................................................................................11 A. Right to personal liberty.............................................................................11 1. Asylum seekers ............................................................................16 2. Migrant families and unaccompanied children ...........................17 B. Right to due process and access to justice.................................................19 1. Right to judicial protection and to a habeas corpus petition ......21 2. Right to seek asylum....................................................................21 C. The right to humane treatment during detention.....................................22 1. Right to medical care ...................................................................24 2. Right to be separated from criminal inmates..............................25 3. Right to be notified of transfer to other detention establishments.............................................................................26 4. Right to have a duly trained and qualified personnel and independent supervision at the place of detention ....................27 5. Right to an established disciplinary policy and to due process ...28 6. The right to an effective procedure for petition and response ...29 7. Obligation to investigate deaths that occur during detention ....30 8. Specific rights of asylum seekers in detention.............................30 9. Adherence to UN Principles for the detention of unaccompanied children .............................................................31 D. Other relevant human rights .....................................................................32 1. The principle of equality and nondiscrimination.........................32 2. Rights to family life, to privacy and the inviolability of the home .................................................................................32 IV. THE INTER‐AMERICAN COMMISSION´S OBSERVATIONS AND CONCERNS REGARDING IMMIGRATION DETENTION, DETENTION CONDITIONS AND THE EFFECT ON DUE PROCESS.................................................................................33 A. Detentions and immigration enforcement in the United States ...............33 1. General issues..............................................................................33 v Page 2. Noncitizens detained at the border, port of entry or nearby......36 a. Expedited removal.........................................................37 b. Arriving aliens................................................................40 c. The new guidelines on parole for arriving noncitizens seeking asylum ..............................................................45 3. Noncitizens in the U.S. interior....................................................47 a. Enforcement of Federal Law by Federal Immigration Officers ..........................................................................47 i. Worksite Enforcement Unit ............................48 ii. Fugitive Operations Teams..............................53 b. Immigration enforcement at the state and local levels..............................................................................59 i. Immigration detention of nonciticizens convicted of crimes or arrested on criminal charges (The Criminal Alien Program and Secure Communities Program) .......................59 ii. Delegation of Civil Immigration Enforcement to State and Local Law Enforcement (State and local partnerships for enforcing civil immigration laws under 287(g) agreements)..65 4. Bond.............................................................................................81 5. Indefinite detention of noncitizens who cannot be deported.....82 B. Conditions of immigrant detention............................................................85 1. The absence of a civil detention system......................................85 2. ICE mechanisms of supervision and accountability with regard to detention conditions....................................................87 3. Medical care of immigration detainees.......................................97 4. Mental health care of detained immigrants..............................103 5. Food services .............................................................................107 6. Living conditions ........................................................................108 7. Telephone access.......................................................................110 8. Outdoor recreation....................................................................114 9. Attorney‐client meetings and family visits ................................115 10. Access to legal resources...........................................................117 11. Discipline....................................................................................118 12. Grievance procedures................................................................119 13. Some reforms recently introduced or proposed for the future to the detention conditions of immigrant detainees .....120 vi Page C. Detention of families and children...........................................................126 1. Immigrant families.....................................................................126 2. Unaccompanied children...........................................................128 D. Impact of detentions on immigrants´due process...................................130 1. Lack of access to legal representation during detention...........130 2. Prevalence of stipulated orders of removal ..............................134 3. ICE delays in filing notices to appear .........................................135 4. Pervasive use of transfers between detention facilities............137 5. Concerns with the use of video conferencing for credible fear interviews and merits hearings ..........................................140 6. Due process for vulnerable groups............................................142 a. Unaccompanied children.............................................142 b. Immigrant detainees with mental disabilities .............142 V. FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................144 A. Interior Enforcement Recommendations ................................................145 1. Federal Enforcement Programs.................................................145 2. State and Local Partnership Enforcement Programs.................146 B. Detention recommendations...................................................................147 1. Mandatory detention of arriving aliens and deportable immigrants with criminal convictions........................................147 2. Custody determinations and alternatives to detention ............147 3. Civil detention system ...............................................................148 C. Civil detention conditions ........................................................................149 1. Medical and mental health care................................................151 D. Due process recommendations ...............................................................152 E. Recommendations on families and unaccompanied children.................153 vii REPORT ON IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES: DETENTION AND DUE PROCESS I. INTRODUCTION 1. In keeping with Article 58 of its Rules of Procedure, the Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter‐American Commission,” “the Commission,” or “the IACHR”) is presenting this report as a diagnostic analysis of the human rights situation with respect to immigrant1 detention and due process in the United States and to make recommendations so that immigration practices