Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility
Jena, Louisiana
Detainees Deported or Released Number last 12 months 3,659 Out of total detained 4,159 Percent change: from previous 12 months - from FY 2005 - from FY 2000 - Facility ranking on detainees top 7 %
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facilityDuring the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 3,659 detainees housed at the Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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. While the facility is government owned, it is operated by the The GEO Group, Inc. that was in the business of providing detention services for housing federal detainees.
Those individuals who departed from this facility because they were leaving ICE detention made up 88 percent of the 4,159 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 12 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility last year ranked in the top 7 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 7 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 93 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 (99 percent) left the country from the Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility processed no deportations or other releases as compared with 3,659 last year.
Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for a few (9 percent) of these detainees, the Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE. The remaining 91 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. Again, a total of 9 percent arrived at the Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 12 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 3,095 85 % 72 % Voluntary departure 529 14 % 10 % Bonded out 26 1 % 8 % U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 5 0 % 3 % Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 2 0 % 5 % Proceedings Terminated 2 0 % 2 % Died 0 . 0 % Escaped 0 . 0 % Paroled 0 . 0 % Withdrawal 0 . 1 % Total 3,659 100 % 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility was that they were deported. A total of 3,095 individuals (85 percent) were deported or removed from the Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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.)
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 529 detainees (14 percent) left the Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility last year as voluntary departures.
Bonded out. A group of individuals (26 or 1 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.
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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility during the past 12 months for the following reasons: Paroled 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility departed from the national picture. It was the case that a higher proportion left because they were deported from this facility (85 percent) than was true for the U.S. as a whole (72 percent). A slightly higher proportion (14 percent) left this facility as voluntary departures than was true nationally (10 percent).
In addition, differences were seen for individuals released on bond (1 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility had a much smaller proportion of detainees from Mexico - 28 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 3,659 3,624 99.0 % 1 Mexico 1,039 1,024 98.5 % 2 Guatemala 907 903 99.5 % 3 Honduras 617 615 99.6 % 4 Dominican Republic 428 428 100.0 % 5 Haiti 252 252 100.0 % 6 Colombia 182 182 100.0 % 7 Jamaica 123 123 100.0 % 8 Pakistan 71 69 97.1 % 9 El Salvador 21 17 80.9 % 10 Brazil 2 2 100.0 % India 2 0 0.0 % Indonesia 2 2 100.0 % Trinidad and Tobago 2 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention Facility last year were: Guatemala (25%), Honduras (17%), Dominican Republic (12%) and Haiti (7%). 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 Jena/ Lasalle Detention 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 100 percent. As mentioned above, this compares with 99 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, where detainees were deported or took voluntary departure.
