Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Davidson County Sheriff Facility
Nashville, Tennessee
Detainees Deported or Released Number last 12 months 102 Out of total detained 1,019 Percent change: from previous 12 months - from FY 2005 - from FY 2000 252 % Facility ranking on detainees top 58 %
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facilityDuring the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 102 detainees housed at the Davidson County Sheriff 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. The use of this facility for the temporary housing of federal immigration detainees was arranged through an intergovernmental service agreement (IGSA) under which payments by ICE to another governmental agency are made for housing federal detainees. Additional information about the arrangement, including whether a private company may operate the facility for the government, was not available at the time this report was posted.
Those individuals who departed from this facility because they were leaving ICE detention made up 10 percent of the 1,019 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 90 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the Davidson County Sheriff 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 Davidson County Sheriff 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 Davidson County Sheriff Facility last year ranked in the top 58 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 58 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 42 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 (1 percent) left the country from the Davidson County Sheriff 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. During the April 2006-March 2007 period the Davidson County Sheriff Facility processed no deportations or other releases as compared with 102 last year. Exits last year were however up by 252 percent as compared with the number of exits (29) during FY 2000.
Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Davidson County Sheriff 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.
Exit trends are also summarized by fiscal year in Table 2. Year-by-year figures for the Davidson County Sheriff 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 Davidson County Sheriff Facility was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for all these detainees, the Davidson County Sheriff Facility was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE.
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 Davidson County Sheriff Facility on average had stayed at somewhat fewer (1.0) ICE facilities.
Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile Number Percent Percent Bonded out 90 88 % 8 % U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 10 10 % 3 % Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 1 1 % 5 % Voluntary departure 1 1 % 10 % Deported/Removed 0 . 72 % Died 0 . 0 % Escaped 0 . 0 % Paroled 0 . 0 % Proceedings Terminated 0 . 2 % Withdrawal 0 . 1 % Total 102 100 % 100 %
Table 3: Reasons individuals left ICE detention during the last 12 months
Bonded out. The most common reason a person left ICE detention from this facility was that they were released after posting a bond. A total of 90 individuals (88 percent) left the Davidson County Sheriff Facility because they were "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 10 individuals (10 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.
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 was one detainee who left the Davidson County Sheriff Facility detention for these reasons: none with an order of recognizance, and one with an order of supervision.
Voluntary departure. Under some circumstances, detainees are allowed to take "voluntary departure." 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. One detainee left the Davidson County Sheriff Facility last year as voluntary departures.
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 Davidson County Sheriff 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 Davidson County Sheriff Facility during the past 12 months for the following reasons: Deported/Removed, Paroled, Proceedings Terminated and Withdrawal. See "Reasons for Leaving ICE Detention" for a description of these categories.
Comparing Release Reasons Against The National Picture
In many respects release reasons for the Davidson County Sheriff Facility departed from the national picture. No one left because they were deported from this facility, while for the U.S. as a whole 72 percent left for this reason. A lower proportion (1 percent) left this facility as voluntary departures than was true nationally (10 percent).
In addition, differences were seen for individuals released on bond (88 versus 8 percent), those released to the U.S. Marshal or other agency (10 versus 3 percent), and detainees released on orders of recognizance or supervision (1 versus 5 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 Davidson County Sheriff Facility had a larger proportion of detainees from Mexico - 59 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 102 1 0.9 % 1 Mexico 60 1 1.6 % 2 Guatemala 12 0 0.0 % 3 Honduras 8 0 0.0 % 4 El Salvador 6 0 0.0 % 5 India 3 0 0.0 % Uzbekistan 3 0 0.0 % 7 Finland 2 0 0.0 % Jordan 2 0 0.0 % 9 Canada 1 0 0.0 % China 1 0 0.0 % Ecuador 1 0 0.0 % Egypt 1 0 0.0 % Saudi Arabia 1 0 0.0 % Ukraine 1 0 0.0 %
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 Davidson County Sheriff Facility last year were: Guatemala (12%), Honduras (8%), El Salvador (6%), India (3%) and Uzbekistan (3%). 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 Davidson County Sheriff 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 0 percent to 2 percent. As mentioned above, this compares with 1 percent for all detainees.
With the highest rate of 2 percent were detainees from Mexico where 60 individuals were deported or took voluntary departure. More than one country was tied with the lowest rate, where detainees were deported or took voluntary departure.
