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.