Summary
- The Trump administration moves hundreds of immigrants
monthly. - Transfers hinder detainees’ court defense efforts.
- Advocates say the tactic complicates legal
representation. - Transfers cause confusion and limit attorney access.
- Reflects strict immigration enforcement policies.
Data from immigration watchdog group Witness at
the Border shows that in July and August, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
conducted over 1,400 domestic flights from detention center to detention
center, with an average of over 700 flights per month.
In comparison, during the administration of
former President Joe Biden, there were more than twice as many domestic ICE
flights, with an average of about 350 flights each month.
Transfers of detainees are not new, but they
seem to be happening more quickly now. According to Witness at the Border, there were 598 domestic
flights in May, 697 in June, and 727 in July.
Homeland Security’s policy of holding
individuals in custody pending their expulsion from the nation seems to be the
driving force behind domestic transfers. Over the past few months, there have
been over 56,000 individuals detained in U.S. ICE detention centers at any one
time. In recent weeks, the number of persons in ICE custody increased to
59,000, which is probably an all-time high and exceeds the agency’s ability to
hold them by up to 140 percent.
As room becomes available, immigrants are
transferred to different detention facilities, sometimes hundreds of miles from
the place of their apprehension, after being detained in staging facilities for
brief periods of time.
Republican-led states, which have some of the
biggest detention facilities in the nation, get a large number of those
transfers from Democratic-led states.
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas are home to 14
of the 20 biggest ICE detention facilities; this network has been dubbed
“deportation alley” by immigration advocates. Each year, thousands of
prisoners are housed in the jails, the most of which are run by private prison
corporations.
More than 12,000 people are presently housed in
Texas facilities. According to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a
neutral research effort at Syracuse University, there are over 7,000
individuals in Louisiana’s immigration detention facilities.
Four Guatemalan siblings who were detained in a
Florida county jail were recently loaded into a van and driven about for hours
before being brought back to the same institution, according to a report
published by The Orlando Sentinel. The deadline for their removal from the
local jail prior to their transfer to ICE custody seems to be reset as a
result.
As the Trump administration instructs federal
law enforcement agencies to concentrate on immigration enforcement, the
increase in transfer flights coincides with a spike in immigration arrests.
White House adviser Stephen Miller stated on Fox
News in May that Trump “is going to keep pushing to get that number up
higher each and every day” and that the administration has set a daily
target of 3,000 arrests.
How do ICE’s long-distance transfers affect
detainees’ legal representation?
ICE’s long-distance transfers severely undermine
detainees’ legal representation by disrupting attorney-client relationships,
hindering communication, and obstructing access to counsel and evidence. These
transfers often happen without advance notice to lawyers, leaving attorneys
unable to locate or communicate with their clients for days or weeks.
Detainees themselves may be unable to notify
their lawyers due to sudden moves or restricted phone access. Even when lawyers
attempt to represent clients from afar, immigration judges sometimes do not
permit phone or video appearances, forcing costly and difficult travel for
attorneys.
This situation also limits detainees’ ability to
gather evidence and call witnesses, as they are separated from key support networks
and legal resources.
