Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Florence Staging Facility
Florence, Arizona
Detainees Deported or Released Number last 12 months 8,649 Out of total detained 27,469 Percent change: from previous 12 months -11 % from FY 2005 -14 % from FY 2000 988 % Facility ranking on detainees top 4 %
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facilityDuring the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 8,649 detainees housed at the Florence Staging 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 ICE holding area or staging location that under current ICE detention standards is allowed to temporarily house aliens for up to 12 or 16 hours. These types of units generally have no sleeping quarters or shower facilities.
Those individuals who departed from this facility because they were leaving ICE detention made up 31 percent of the 27,469 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 69 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the Florence Staging 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 Florence Staging 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 Florence Staging Facility last year ranked in the top 4 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 4 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 96 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 higher percentage of detainees (95 percent) left the country from the Florence Staging 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 Florence Staging Facility numbers were down by 11 percent. During the April 2006-March 2007 period the facility processed 9,757 "exits" as compared with 8,649 last year. As detailed in Table 1, numbers last year were also down 14 percent as compared with the number of those leaving ICE detention (10,110) during FY 2005. Exits last year were however up by 988 percent as compared with the number of exits (795) during FY 2000.
Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Florence Staging 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.
Fiscal Year ICE Detainees Total Exits Percent 1999 0 0 - 2000 4,252 795 19 % 2001 12,416 3,727 30 % 2002 10,992 4,325 39 % 2003 11,193 5,249 47 % 2004 17,364 7,784 45 % 2005 23,556 10,110 43 % 2006 20,284 8,311 41 % 2007 25,467 9,580 38 % 2008 (est) 29,838 7,926 27 %
Table 2: Number of detainees leaving
this facility over the last decade
Exit trends are also summarized by fiscal year in Table 2. Year-by-year figures for the Florence Staging 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 Florence Staging Facility was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for a substantial proportion (25 percent) of these detainees, the Florence Staging Facility was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE. The remaining 75 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 26 percent arrived at the Florence Staging 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 20 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 Florence Staging Facility on average had stayed at somewhat more (2.8) ICE facilities.
Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile Number Percent Percent Deported/Removed 8,117 94 % 72 % U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 378 4 % 3 % Voluntary departure 92 1 % 10 % Bonded out 30 0 % 8 % Proceedings Terminated 13 0 % 2 % Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 8 0 % 5 % Withdrawal 3 0 % 1 % Escaped 1 0 % 0 % Died 0 . 0 % Paroled 0 . 0 % Total 8,642 100 % 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, the most common reason detainees left the Florence Staging Facility was that they were deported. A total of 8,117 individuals (94 percent) were deported or removed from the Florence Staging Facility 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.)
Transferred to criminal custody. A total of 378 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.
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. An additional 92 detainees (1 percent) left the Florence Staging 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 as dying last year at the Florence Staging Facility, but there was one escape. Over the past decade, there was no record of anyone who died or escaped from this facility.
As shown in Table 3, no one was recorded as leaving the Florence Staging Facility during the past 12 months for the following reason: Paroled. 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 Florence Staging Facility departed from the national picture. It was the case that a higher proportion left because they were deported from this facility (94 percent) than was true for the U.S. as a whole (72 percent). 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 (0 versus 8 percent), and detainees released on orders of recognizance or supervision (0 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 Florence Staging Facility had a much smaller proportion of detainees from Mexico - 16 percent among their exits. Detainees from Mexico were not 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 8,649 8,209 94.9 % 1 Guatemala 3,248 3,232 99.5 % 2 El Salvador 1,995 1,983 99.3 % 3 Honduras 1,786 1,779 99.6 % 4 Mexico 1,370 991 72.3 % 5 Ecuador 123 121 98.3 % 6 Philippines 28 26 92.8 % 7 Nicaragua 22 22 100.0 % 8 Peru 8 7 87.5 % 9 Cambodia 5 5 100.0 % 10 Colombia 4 2 50.0 % Venezuela 4 4 100.0 %
Table 4: Numbers leaving ICE detention by nationality
during the last 12 months
In descending order, the top nationalities that made up those leaving ICE detention from the Florence Staging Facility last year were: Guatemala (38%) , El Salvador (23%), Honduras (21%), Mexico (16%) and Ecuador (1%). 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 within the top 10 among those leaving ICE detention from the Florence Staging 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 95 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. At the other end of the range were detainees from Colombia, where 50 percent ended up deported or were allowed voluntary departure.
