Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Sebastian County Detention Center
Ft. Smith, Arkansas
Detainees Deported or Released Number last 12 months 186 Out of total detained 528 Percent change: from previous 12 months 98 % from FY 2005 65 % from FY 2000 69 % Facility ranking on detainees top 45 %
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facilityDuring the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 186 detainees housed at the Sebastian County Detention Center 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 35 percent of the 528 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 65 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the Sebastian County Detention Center 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 Sebastian County Detention Center 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 Sebastian County Detention Center last year ranked in the top 45 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 45 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 55 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 (77 percent) left the country from the Sebastian County Detention Center 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 Sebastian County Detention Center numbers were sharply up by 98 percent. During the April 2006-March 2007 period the facility processed 94 "exits" as compared with 186 last year. As detailed in Table 1, numbers last year were also up 65 percent as compared with the number of those leaving ICE detention (113) during FY 2005. Exits last year were also up by 69 percent as compared with the number of exits (110) during FY 2000.
Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Sebastian County Detention Center 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 Sebastian County Detention Center 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 Sebastian County Detention Center was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for the vast majority (75 percent) of these detainees, the Sebastian County Detention Center was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE. The remaining 25 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 75 percent arrived at the Sebastian County Detention Center 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 Sebastian County Detention Center. 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 Sebastian County Detention Center on average had stayed at somewhat fewer (1.2) ICE facilities.
Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile Number Percent Percent Deported/Removed 124 67 % 72 % U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 25 13 % 3 % Voluntary departure 20 11 % 10 % Bonded out 17 9 % 8 % Died 0 . 0 % Escaped 0 . 0 % Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 0 . 5 % Paroled 0 . 0 % Proceedings Terminated 0 . 2 % Withdrawal 0 . 1 % Total 186 100 % 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 Sebastian County Detention Center was that they were deported. A total of 124 individuals (67 percent) were deported or removed from the Sebastian County Detention Center 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 25 individuals (13 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 20 detainees (11 percent) left the Sebastian County Detention Center last year as voluntary departures.
Bonded out. A group of individuals (17 or 9 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 Sebastian County Detention Center 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 Sebastian County Detention Center during the past 12 months for the following reasons: Orders of Recognizance or Supervision, 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 Sebastian County Detention Center departed from the national picture. It was the case that a lower proportion left because they were deported from this facility (67 percent) than was true for the U.S. as a whole (72 percent).
In addition, differences were seen for those released to the U.S. Marshal or other agency (13 versus 3 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 Sebastian County Detention Center had a much larger proportion of detainees from Mexico - 91 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 186 144 77.4 % 1 Mexico 170 140 82.3 % 2 El Salvador 9 3 33.3 % 3 Guatemala 3 1 33.3 % 4 Honduras 2 0 0.0 % 5 Peru 1 0 0.0 % Vietnam 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 Sebastian County Detention Center last year were: El Salvador (5%), Guatemala (2%), Honduras (1%), Peru (1%) and Vietnam (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%).
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 82 percent. As mentioned above, this compares with 77 percent for all detainees.
With the highest rate of 82 percent were detainees from Mexico where 170 individuals were deported or took voluntary departure. At the other end of the range were detainees from Honduras, where none ended up deported or were allowed voluntary departure.
