Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility
Pompano Beach, Florida

Detainees Deported or Released
Number last 12 months 2,781
Out of total detained 5,350
 
Percent change:
from previous 12 months 11 %
from FY 2005 183 %
from FY 2000 -
 
Facility ranking on detainees top 8 %

Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facility

During the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 2,781 detainees housed at the Broward Transitional Contract 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 under a contract with 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 52 percent of the 5,350 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 48 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the Broward Transitional Contract 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 Broward Transitional Contract 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 Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility last year ranked in the top 8 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 8 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 92 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, about the same percentage of detainees (83 percent) left the country from the Broward Transitional Contract 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. When deportations and other releases during the April 2007-March 2008 period were compared with those in the previous 12 months, the Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility numbers were up by 11 percent. During the April 2006-March 2007 period the facility processed 2,507 "exits" as compared with 2,781 last year. As detailed in Table 1, numbers last year were also up 183 percent as compared with the number of those leaving ICE detention (984) during FY 2005.

Bar chart of fymondt

Figure 1: Month-by-month number of detainees leaving this facility

Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Broward Transitional Contract 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. 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 0 0 -
2001 0 0 -
2002 29 28 97 %
2003 766 732 96 %
2004 911 798 88 %
2005 1,081 984 91 %
2006 2,137 1,598 75 %
2007 4,673 2,854 61 %
2008 (est) 6,468 3,204 50 %

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 Broward Transitional Contract 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 Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for the majority (70 percent) of these detainees, the Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE. The remaining 30 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 75 percent arrived at the Broward Transitional Contract 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 9 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 Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility on average had stayed at somewhat fewer (1.5) ICE facilities.

Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile
Number Percent Percent
Deported/Removed 2,052 74 % 72 %
Voluntary departure 264 9 % 10 %
Bonded out 236 8 % 8 %
U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 112 4 % 3 %
Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 75 3 % 5 %
Proceedings Terminated 32 1 % 2 %
Paroled 5 0 % 0 %
Escaped 4 0 % 0 %
Withdrawal 1 0 % 1 %
Died 0 . 0 %
Total 2,781 100 % 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 Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility was that they were deported. A total of 2,052 individuals (74 percent) were deported or removed from the Broward Transitional Contract 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 264 detainees (9 percent) left the Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility last year as voluntary departures.

Bonded out. A group of individuals (236 or 8 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.

Transferred to criminal custody. A total of 112 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.

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 were 75 (3 percent) who left the Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility detention for these reasons: 20 with orders of recognizance, and 55 with orders of supervision.

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 a total of 32 individuals, or 1 percent were released from detention by the Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility because a determination was made that there were no grounds to deport the individuals and thus ICE had to release them 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 as dying last year at the Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility, but there were 4 escapes. Over the past decade, 6 escapes were recorded from this facility, but no deaths.

Pie chart of release_grp

Figure 2: Reasons individuals left ICE detention

Comparing Release Reasons Against The National Picture

In many respects release reasons for the Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility departed from the national picture. The facility's percentages fell within 3 percentage points of the national figures for all 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 Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility had a smaller proportion of detainees from Mexico - 37 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
Departure
Percent
- ALL 2,781 2,316 83.2 %
1 Mexico 1,017 965 94.8 %
2 Guatemala 198 179 90.4 %
3 Honduras 192 165 85.9 %
4 Haiti 187 135 72.1 %
5 Colombia 162 130 80.2 %
6 Brazil 156 130 83.3 %
7 Nicaragua 67 60 89.5 %
8 El Salvador 55 46 83.6 %
Venezuela 55 38 69.0 %
10 Jamaica 52 34 65.3 %
Peru 52 42 80.7 %

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 Broward Transitional Contract Detention Facility last year were: Guatemala (7%), Honduras (7%), Haiti (7%) and Colombia (6%). 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%).

Pie chart of nat

Figure 3: Nationality of those
leaving ICE detention

For the frequency for each of the other nationalities within the top 10 among those leaving ICE detention from the Broward Transitional Contract 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 65 percent to 95 percent. As mentioned above, this compares with 83 percent for all detainees.

With the highest rate of 95 percent were detainees from Mexico where 1,017 individuals were deported or took voluntary departure. At the other end of the range were detainees from Jamaica, where 65 percent ended up deported or were allowed voluntary departure.

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