Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility
Leesport, Pennsylvania
Detainees Deported or Released Number last 12 months 48 Out of total detained 100 Percent change: from previous 12 months 153 % from FY 2005 336 % from FY 2000 - Facility ranking on detainees top 70 %
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facilityDuring the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 48 detainees housed at the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility left that facility because they were deported, were released under supervision while their cases were being decided, or left ICE detention for one of a variety of other reasons. This is a special facility for housing juveniles. Use of this facility was handled by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Division of Unaccompanied Children's Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Those individuals who departed from this facility because they were leaving ICE detention made up 48 percent of the 100 detainees housed at this facility during the last 12 months. This report focuses on the reasons these individuals left ICE detention. Sometimes this report speaks of these individuals as those "exiting" ICE detention, or simply as "exits." The other 52 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility to other facilities.
This report covers those who left ICE custody. It excludes individuals transferred to other ICE facilities. For more information on this facility, including individuals that were transferred, see additional TRAC reports in this series.
This report series is based upon analyses conducted by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University of 3.4 million government records tracking each individual who passed through an ICE detention facility during the past decade. The most recent 12 month period for which comprehensive data are available is for April 2007 through March 2008. See About the Data.
How This Facility Ranks Nationally
Rankings on the number leaving ICE detention. The Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility was one of 1,528 facilities that were used to house immigration detainees during the last decade, and one of 654 facilities nationwide that housed ICE detainees during the most recent 12 month period. Of these 654, there were 324 facilities that had at least 10 individuals who were deported or released. Excluding those facilities with fewer than 10 exits, the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility last year ranked in the top 70 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 70 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 30 percent had a smaller number. See Table 1.
Deportations. Nationally, the most common reason that a detainee left ICE detention was that they were deported from the United States. During the most recent 12 month period for which comprehensive data are available, nationwide 81 percent of those leaving ICE detention were deported or "voluntarily" departed. By way of comparison, a lower percentage of detainees (73 percent) left the country from the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility because they were formally deported, or left under the so-called "voluntary departure" procedure.
Trends in the Number of Detainees Deported or Released
Trends in the number leaving ICE detention. When deportations and other releases during the April 2007-March 2008 period were compared with those in the previous 12 months, the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility numbers were sharply up by 153 percent. During the April 2006-March 2007 period the facility processed 19 "exits" as compared with 48 last year. As detailed in Table 1, numbers last year were also up 336 percent as compared with the number of those leaving ICE detention (11) during FY 2005.
Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility are displayed in Figure 1. Here the month-by-month number of exits are graphed against the backdrop of the total detainees leaving the custody of this facility. Exits are displayed with darker shading while those transferred appear with lighter shading. As is readily apparent, considerable variation has occurred over time in both the overall numbers of detainees as well as the volume leaving ICE detention during this period.
Exit trends are also summarized by fiscal year in Table 2. Year-by-year figures for the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility are given for the total number of detainees as compared with those leaving ICE detention from the facility. The percent of detainees that left ICE detention is also given. (As mentioned above, the remaining detainees were transferred to another ICE detention facility.) Because data for all twelve months of the most recent fiscal year are not yet available, the FY 2008 numbers (October 2007 through September 2008) are estimated based upon reporting for the first six months.
Were Detained Individuals from the Local Area?
Information on the place of arrest was not included in the available data ICE released. However, we can examine whether the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for the majority (69 percent) of these detainees, the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE. The remaining 31 percent had been transferred in from another ICE detention facility.
We can also look at how quickly they arrived at this facility after they were first detained. A total of 90 percent arrived at the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility at some point during the very first day they were detained by ICE. There was considerable variability among detainees in the number of detention facilities they had been held in before they were finally deported or released from this facility. The number of facilities ranged as high as 3 separate locations for some detainees. These figures again are based on an analysis of the most recent 12 months for which data are available.
For the United States as a whole, last year the typical detainee stayed in two different ICE detention facilities before being deported or released - half stayed in 2 or fewer facilities, and half stayed in 2 or more. The average number of ICE facilities detainees moved through was 1.9. Detainees at the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility on average had stayed at somewhat fewer (1.4) ICE facilities.
Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile Number Percent Percent Voluntary departure 20 42 % 10 % Deported/Removed 15 31 % 72 % Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 7 15 % 5 % Bonded out 2 4 % 8 % U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 2 4 % 3 % Paroled 1 2 % 0 % Proceedings Terminated 1 2 % 2 % Died 0 . 0 % Escaped 0 . 0 % Withdrawal 0 . 1 % Total 48 100 % 100 %
Table 3: Reasons individuals left ICE detention during the last 12 months
Why Did Detainees Leave ICE Detention?
ICE records one of twenty-three reasons a detainee left ICE detention. As shown in Table 3, these reasons fall into ten general categories -- from leaving because one is deported or removed, to leaving because one escaped or the individual died while in custody.
Deportation. As mentioned earlier, while nationally the most common reason that a detainee left ICE detention was that they were deported from this country, this was not the top reason at this facility. At the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility only 15 individuals (31 percent) were deported or removed during the most recent 12 month period for which data are available. (ICE data did not distinguish between deportations and removals, and the terms are used interchangeably in this report.)
Voluntary departure. Voluntary departure was the most common reason recorded for a detainee to leave detention from this facility. As with deportation, under voluntary departure a person must leave the country. However, unlike formal deportation where the individual is barred by law from reentering this country permanently or for a period of years, under voluntary departure the individual is not legally barred from reentry. A total of 20 detainees (42 percent) left the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility last year as voluntary departures.
Orders. Orders are additional mechanisms that are sometimes used to release a person while their case is pending, or awaiting removal. Under an "order of recognizance" an individual is released with reporting conditions while in deportation proceedings and awaiting a final decision. A second type of order ("order of supervision") releases an individual after a final order of removal. Here an individual is released because ICE has not met the time limits the law imposes for deporting the individual. There were 7 (15 percent) who left the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility detention for these reasons: 6 with orders of recognizance, and one with an order of supervision.
Bonded out. A group of individuals (2 or 4 percent) were also "bonded out." This generally covers situations where the individual posts a bond and is released while awaiting a decision on their deportation (removal) case. The amount of the bond is set by ICE, or by an Immigration Judge. Many individuals are not eligible to be released because their continued detention is considered mandatory under provisions in the immigration laws.
Transferred to criminal custody. A total of 2 individuals (4 percent) left this facility last year because they were turned over to U.S. Marshals or to some other government agency. This typically occurs because there is an outstanding criminal case against the individual, or the individual is needed as a material witness in a criminal case.
Parole. ICE also has discretionary authority to "parole" individuals and give them temporary entry into the country, often on humanitarian grounds. Individuals with serious medical conditions, pregnant women, and certain juveniles are among the categories considered. Other categories are individuals who will serve as witnesses in judicial or administrative proceedings, and individuals whose parole is considered by ICE in the "public interest." One individual was paroled from this facility.
No legitimate grounds to deport. Sometimes individuals left ICE detention because they "won" their case. Typically this occurs when an Immigration Judge orders the deportation proceedings ICE has filed against them "terminated" (dismissed) and the judge's order after any appeals becomes final. Analysis of the latest 12 months of data show that one individual was released from detention by the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility because a determination was made that there were no grounds to deport the individual and thus ICE had to release him or her from custody.
Escape and death. Nationally, there were 92 individuals who escaped ICE detention during the latest 12 month period for which data are available, and 8 individuals were recorded as having died in detention. No one was recorded by the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility as either escaping or dying last year. Over the past decade, there was also no record of anyone who died or escaped from this facility.
As shown in Table 3, no one was recorded as leaving the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility during the past 12 months for the following reason: Withdrawal. See "Reasons for Leaving ICE Detention" for a description of this category.
Comparing Release Reasons Against The National Picture
In many respects release reasons for the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility departed from the national picture. It was the case that a lower proportion left because they were deported from this facility (31 percent) than was true for the U.S. as a whole (72 percent). A higher proportion (42 percent) left this facility as voluntary departures than was true nationally (10 percent).
In addition, differences were seen for detainees released on orders of recognizance or supervision (15 versus 5 percent), and individuals released on bond (4 versus 8 percent).
The facility's percentages fell within 3 percentage points of the national figures for all other categories.
Nationalities
Which nationalities predominate? Last year in the United States, individuals from Mexico comprised the largest number of those leaving ICE detention. Some 53.6 percent of all detainees recorded Mexico as their country of origin. The Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility had a larger proportion of detainees from Mexico - 67 percent among their exits. Detainees from Mexico were also the largest single nationality group among those leaving detention from the facility.
Nationalities Ranked in Top 10 Left ICE Detention Total Deported/
Voluntary
DeparturePercent - ALL 48 35 72.9 % 1 Mexico 32 24 75.0 % 2 Colombia 2 2 100.0 % Costa Rica 2 1 50.0 % Ecuador 2 1 50.0 % El Salvador 2 2 100.0 % Jamaica 2 1 50.0 % Peru 2 1 50.0 % 8 Grenada 1 1 100.0 % Guatemala 1 1 100.0 % Honduras 1 0 0.0 % Trinidad and Tobago 1 1 100.0 %
Table 4: Numbers leaving ICE detention by nationality
during the last 12 months
In descending order, the other top nationalities after Mexico that made up those leaving ICE detention from the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility last year were: Colombia (4%), Costa Rica (4%), Ecuador (4%), El Salvador (4%), Jamaica (4%) and Peru (4%). This compared to the United States as a whole where the other top five nationalities after Mexico were Honduras (11.0%), Guatemala (10.0%), El Salvador (8.4%) and Dominican Republic (1.6%).
For the frequency for each of the other nationalities among those leaving ICE detention from the Berks County Secured Juvenile Facility last year see Table 4.
Deportations and voluntary departures by nationality. Within the nationalities that made up those listed in Table 4 with more than one individual, the proportion deported or voluntarily departing varied from 50 percent to 100 percent. As mentioned above, this compares with 73 percent for all detainees.
More than one country was tied with the highest rate of 100 percent, where detainees were deported or took voluntary departure. More than one country was tied with the lowest rate of 50 percent, where detainees were deported or took voluntary departure.
