Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Morgan County Jail
Ft. Morgan, Colorado
Detainees Deported or Released Number last 12 months 62 Out of total detained 350 Percent change: from previous 12 months 130 % from FY 2005 - from FY 2000 - Facility ranking on detainees top 66 %
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facilityDuring the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 62 detainees housed at the Morgan County Jail 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 18 percent of the 350 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 82 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the Morgan County Jail 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 Morgan County Jail 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 Morgan County Jail last year ranked in the top 66 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 66 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 34 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 (11 percent) left the country from the Morgan County Jail 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 Morgan County Jail numbers were sharply up by 130 percent. During the April 2006-March 2007 period the facility processed 27 "exits" as compared with 62 last year.
Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Morgan County Jail 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 Morgan County Jail 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 Morgan County Jail was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for the majority (74 percent) of these detainees, the Morgan County Jail was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE. The remaining 26 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 89 percent arrived at the Morgan County Jail 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. All detainees either entered and left this one facility, or had spent time at one additional ICE facility before their transfer to the Morgan County Jail. 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 Morgan County Jail on average had stayed at somewhat fewer (1.3) ICE facilities.
Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile Number Percent Percent U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 52 85 % 3 % Voluntary departure 7 11 % 10 % Bonded out 1 2 % 8 % Proceedings Terminated 1 2 % 2 % Deported/Removed 0 . 72 % Died 0 . 0 % Escaped 0 . 0 % Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 0 . 5 % Paroled 0 . 0 % Withdrawal 0 . 1 % Total 61 100 % 100 %
Table 3: Reasons individuals left ICE detention during the last 12 months
Transferred to criminal custody. The most common reason a person left ICE detention from this facility was that they were transferred to criminal custody. A total of 52 individuals (85 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 7 detainees (11 percent) left the Morgan County Jail last year as voluntary departures.
Bonded out. One individual was 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.
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 Morgan County Jail 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 Morgan County Jail 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 Morgan County Jail during the past 12 months for the following reasons: Deported/Removed, Orders of Recognizance or Supervision, 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 Morgan County Jail 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.
In addition, differences were seen for those released to the U.S. Marshal or other agency (85 versus 3 percent), individuals released on bond (2 versus 8 percent), and detainees released on orders of recognizance or supervision (none 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 Morgan County Jail had a much larger proportion of detainees from Mexico - 87 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 62 7 11.2 % 1 Mexico 54 7 12.9 % 2 Guatemala 3 0 0.0 % 3 Honduras 2 0 0.0 % 4 El Salvador 1 0 0.0 % Ghana 1 0 0.0 % Nicaragua 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 Morgan County Jail last year were: Guatemala (5%), Honduras (3%), El Salvador (2%), Ghana (2%) and Nicaragua (2%). 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%).
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 13 percent. As mentioned above, this compares with 11 percent for all detainees.
With the highest rate of 13 percent were detainees from Mexico where 54 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.
