Report: immigration detention facilities fall short of federal standards

October 7th, 2009 Arizona sheriff's immigration deal clears hurdlePHOENIX — County officials in Arizona have approved an agreement that would let 60 county jail officers continue to check on the immigration status of jail inmates. Wednesday's 3-2 vote by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors moves Sheriff Joe Arpaio a step closer to renewing a deal that grants special federal immigration powers to jail officers.

October 6th, 2009 Detained immigrants could be categorized by riskWASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano promised immigration enforcement would continue even though her agency is considering new ways to house nonviolent immigrants who have not committed crimes. Napolitano spoke at a news conference Tuesday at which she released detention reform recommendations based on a review by her former detention adviser, who resigned last month to become commissioner of New York City's jails.

October 5th, 2009 Hotels, other sites may house detained immigrantsWASHINGTON — Former hotels, nursing homes and other sites would be used to hold immigrants who are not criminals or violent as part of a larger plan to reform immigration detention proposed by the homeland security secretary, according to documents obtained Monday by The Associated Press. Janet Napolitano is proposing that illegal immigrants awaiting deportation be confined according to the risk they may pose and will detail her plan on Tuesday.

September 23rd, 2009 Government weighs boost to immigration filing feesLOS ANGELES — The federal government is considering raising fees on applications for immigration-related services to help offset a shortage in revenue. Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S.

September 18th, 2009 Last few families depart Texas detention centerDALLAS — The last immigrant families have departed a disparaged former Texas prison that housed them while they awaited decisions in immigration cases, federal officials said Friday. The families have been deported, paroled or released while they pursue asylum or another immigration status to remain in the U.S., Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.

September 16th, 2009 ACLU settles suit over unsanitary immigrant centerLOS ANGELES — Federal immigration officials have settled a lawsuit that claimed suspected illegal immigrants were kept in "barbaric" conditions in a downtown Los Angeles detention center, civil rights groups announced Wednesday. The federal court agreement restricts detainees at the facility to 12 hours at a stretch except under unusual circumstances such as epidemics or natural disasters.

August 13th, 2009 ICE: Detention overhaul won't lead to fewer bedsSAN ANTONIO — A planned overhaul of the immigration detention system might result in fewer concrete cells and lower fences — but it won't mean more releases, even with electronic ankle monitors, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said Wednesday. Morton announced last week that his agency would re-evaluate the scattered, 33,400-bed system that holds immigrants awaiting court hearings or deportation.

August 10th, 2009 A look at the US immigration detention systemU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement housed about 33,345 people per night in July at facilities across the country.

August 8th, 2009 Correction: Immigration-Detention Conditions storyWASHINGTON — In an Aug. 6 story about planned changes by the Obama administration to immigration detention, The Associated Press reported erroneously that entering the country illegally the first time is a civil violation.

August 7th, 2009 First moves toward immigration detention makeoverWASHINGTON — The Obama administration's plan to stop holding immigrant families at a former central Texas prison was cheered Thursday by the immigrants' supporters and some in Congress as a needed change in inhumane and sometimes deadly detentions. Supporters of tougher immigration enforcement, however, questioned whether the administration was returning to policies that allow immigrants to disappear.

August 6th, 2009 Feds begin immigration detention makeoverWASHINGTON — Immigration officials are immediately ending the housing of families at a former prison in central Texas as a first step in transforming immigration detention from a criminal to a civil system. The families will either be sent immediately to a much smaller facility in Pennsylvania or to other alternatives, considered on a case-by-case basis, John Morton, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told reporters Thursday.

August 6th, 2009 AP sources: Feds return to run detention centersWASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department intends to put federal employees in charge of monitoring the treatment of detainees in the country's largest immigration detention facilities, two years after the government turned that job over to a private company. The Obama administration plans to place 23 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at the largest detention facilities to supervise how the detention centers are managed, according to people briefed on the plan.

August 6th, 2009 AP sources: Feds to change detention oversightWASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to place federal employees in the largest immigration detention facilities in the country to monitor detainee treatment. Under the new plan, 23 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would be placed at the largest jails to directly supervise how the detention centers are managed, according to people briefed on the government's plan.

July 28th, 2009 Report: Immigration detention violated standardsLOS ANGELES — Immigrant advocates say the federal government has failed to meet its own standards for detaining immigrants, making it unduly difficult for immigrants to defend themselves in court and fight to remain in the country. A report released Tuesday says detainees face limited access to phones, mail and law libraries in violation of federal standards.

June 4th, 2009 Human rights group visits Texas detention centerMcALLEN, Texas — A team from Amnesty International visited the nation's largest immigrant detention center and reported that detainees there face numerous obstacles to arguing against deportation. The team visited the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos on Tuesday and Wednesday after receiving complaints from detainees.