Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
West Texas Detention Facility
Sierra Blanca, Texas
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facility
During the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 30 detainees housed
at the West Texas 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 Emerald Companies 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 4 percent of
the 767 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 96 percent remained in ICE detention but were transferred from the West Texas 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 West Texas 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
West Texas Detention Facility last year ranked in the top 78 percent nationwide in
the number of individuals leaving ICE detention.
This means that 78 percent of the locations contributed the same or a
larger numbers of exits, while 22
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 (87 percent) left the country from the West Texas 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 West Texas Detention Facility
processed no deportations or other releases as compared with 30 last year.
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 West Texas 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.
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
202 |
6 |
3 % |
1,130 |
48 |
4 % |
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 West Texas 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 West Texas Detention Facility was the first ICE facility in which
these detainees were held.
However, for none of these detainees the West Texas Detention Facility was the first place they were
sent when they were detained by ICE.
All 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 3 percent arrived at the West Texas 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 7 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 West Texas Detention Facility on average had stayed at somewhat more (3.6) ICE facilities.
26 |
87 % |
72 % |
2 |
7 % |
8 % |
1 |
3 % |
5 % |
1 |
3 % |
3 % |
0 |
. |
0 % |
0 |
. |
0 % |
0 |
. |
0 % |
0 |
. |
2 % |
0 |
. |
10 % |
0 |
. |
1 % |
30 |
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 West Texas Detention Facility
was that they were deported.
A total of 26 individuals (87 percent) were deported or removed from the West Texas 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.)
Bonded out.
A group of individuals (2 or 7 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.
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 was one detainee who left the West Texas Detention Facility detention for these reasons: none with an order
of recognizance, and one with an order of supervision.
Transferred to criminal custody.
A total of 1 individuals (3 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.
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 West Texas 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 West Texas Detention Facility during the past 12 months for the following
reasons:
Paroled, Proceedings Terminated, Voluntary departure and Withdrawal. See "Reasons for Leaving ICE Detention" for a description of these categories.
Figure 2: Reasons individuals left ICE detention
Comparing Release Reasons Against The National Picture
In many respects release reasons for the West Texas Detention Facility departed from the national picture.
It was the case that a higher proportion left because they were deported from
this facility (87 percent) than was true for the U.S. as a whole (72 percent).
No one left as a voluntary departure from this facility, while this was true
for 10 percent of all individuals nationally.
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 West Texas Detention Facility had a smaller proportion of detainees from Mexico - 43 percent among their exits.
Detainees from Mexico were also the largest single nationality group among those leaving detention from the facility.
30 |
26 |
86.6 % |
13 |
12 |
92.3 % |
9 |
9 |
100.0 % |
3 |
3 |
100.0 % |
2 |
2 |
100.0 % |
1 |
0 |
0.0 % |
1 |
0 |
0.0 % |
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 West Texas Detention Facility last year were:
Honduras (30%), Guatemala (10%), El Salvador (7%), China (3%), Trinidad and Tobago (3%) and Vietnam (3%).
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%).
Figure 3: Nationality of those
leaving ICE detention
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 92 percent to 100 percent.
As mentioned above, this compares with 87 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 Mexico, where 92 percent ended up deported or were allowed voluntary departure.