Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
West Texas Detention Facility
Sierra Blanca, Texas

Detainees Deported or Released
Number last 12 months 30
Out of total detained 767
 
Percent change:
from previous 12 months -
from FY 2005 -
from FY 2000 -
 
Facility ranking on detainees top 78 %

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.

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 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.

Fiscal Year ICE Detainees
Total Exits Percent
1999 0 0 -
2000 0 0 -
2001 0 0 -
2002 0 0 -
2003 0 0 -
2004 0 0 -
2005 0 0 -
2006 0 0 -
2007 202 6 3 %
2008 (est) 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.

Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile
Number Percent Percent
Deported/Removed 26 87 % 72 %
Bonded out 2 7 % 8 %
Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 1 3 % 5 %
U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 1 3 % 3 %
Died 0 . 0 %
Escaped 0 . 0 %
Paroled 0 . 0 %
Proceedings Terminated 0 . 2 %
Voluntary departure 0 . 10 %
Withdrawal 0 . 1 %
Total 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.

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 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.

Nationalities Ranked in Top 10 Left ICE Detention
Total Deported/
Voluntary
Departure
Percent
- ALL 30 26 86.6 %
1 Mexico 13 12 92.3 %
2 Honduras 9 9 100.0 %
3 Guatemala 3 3 100.0 %
4 El Salvador 2 2 100.0 %
5 China 1 0 0.0 %
Trinidad and Tobago 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 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%).

Pie chart of nat

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.

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