The number one problem is that immigration law is civil in nature, not criminal. This appears to be a hard concept to get across to the average person. It is even harder for the alien who is being detained.
In many instances, aliens are detained in prisons alongside convicted criminals. They are treated like prisoners. They are indeed prisoners in all but name. They are called "detainees." But the softer language fails to hide the cruel reality that these are largely forgotten segments of our society. One where pursuing reform is difficult because it is not politically popular to do so.
The detention system is largely ad hoc. There are a few federally run facilities, such as Farmville in Virginia. But, in many instances, the Federal Government contracts either within a state or local jail for space, or with a private prison company.
One of the issues that led to this problem was the press for enforcement, enforcement, enforcement. Naively, the public thinks that enforcement means you pick up an illegal alien, and you neatly drop him off over the border. That is hardly the case. When a person is here without a valid immigration status, there are provisions of law which may help that person become legal. It is that person's right to pursue those avenues. This means you must have due process. You must have courts to hear the cases. You must have Government lawyers to present the Government's side. You must have humane facilities available to house these people until their hearing is scheduled. That means money.
When the Government last pursued an enforcement-only policy, it failed to put the money into the effort that was required. This led to the ad hoc and inhumane system we now have. One that in many instances even deprives detainees of the health care they need, as many have died in detention over medical conditions that would have been easily treatable if caught early enough.
You add to the complications that it is much easier for politicians to say that they are being tough on crime. Thus, they pass measures such as mandatory detention. This means that aliens who are removable or deportable because of criminal convictions must stay detained, with no hope of being released on bond while waiting for a hearing. The law is mandatory, giving immigration judges absolutely no discretion.
The law leads to intolerable situations, where a person who has a conviction, and has served time for that conviction, now has to be imprisoned yet a second time for the very same crime awaiting his hearing. This is true, even if the alien can make a good showing that he is entitled to immigration relief. I had such a client. He had been convicted of domestic assault. He served his time. he was picked up again later for his immigration problems. But, he was relief available to him. I ended up securing permanent residency for him. In the meantime, he was forced to wait for 9 months in detention, with real, hardened criminals. And there was nothing we could do about that.
More pleasant sounding words, like "detention," and publicly denying that this is a criminal law matter, fail to hide the deplorable condition that exists in the nation's immigration detention system. This is a condition that must be addressed, out of pure morality and civility.
By: William J. Kovatch, Jr.
(703) 837-8832
info@kovatchimmigrationlaw.com
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