Detainees Leaving ICE Detention from the
Southern Ute Detention Center
Ignacio, Colorado
Detainees Deported or Released Number last 12 months 60 Out of total detained 171 Percent change: from previous 12 months 161 % from FY 2005 - from FY 2000 - Facility ranking on detainees top 68 %
Table 1: Number leaving ICE detention
from this facilityDuring the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, a total of 60 detainees housed at the Southern Ute 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 171 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 Southern Ute 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 Southern Ute 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 Southern Ute Detention Center last year ranked in the top 68 percent nationwide in the number of individuals leaving ICE detention. This means that 68 percent of the locations contributed the same or a larger numbers of exits, while 32 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 (68 percent) left the country from the Southern Ute 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 Southern Ute Detention Center numbers were sharply up by 161 percent. During the April 2006-March 2007 period the facility processed 23 "exits" as compared with 60 last year.
Longer term exit trends. Greater detail on these long-term trends for those leaving ICE detention from the Southern Ute 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.
Exit trends are also summarized by fiscal year in Table 2. Year-by-year figures for the Southern Ute 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 Southern Ute Detention Center was the first ICE facility in which these detainees were held. According to ICE records, for all these detainees, the Southern Ute Detention Center was the first place they were sent when they were detained by ICE.
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 Southern Ute Detention Center on average had stayed at somewhat fewer (1.0) ICE facilities.
Reason Left ICE Facility Profile U.S Profile Number Percent Percent Voluntary departure 41 68 % 10 % Orders of Recognizance or Supervision 11 18 % 5 % U.S. Marshal or Other Agency 7 12 % 3 % Withdrawal 1 2 % 1 % Bonded out 0 . 8 % Deported/Removed 0 . 72 % Died 0 . 0 % Escaped 0 . 0 % Paroled 0 . 0 % Proceedings Terminated 0 . 2 % Total 60 100 % 100 %
Table 3: Reasons individuals left ICE detention during the last 12 months
Voluntary departure. Voluntary departure was the most common reason recorded for a detainee to leave detention from this facility. 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. A total of 41 detainees (68 percent) left the Southern Ute Detention Center last year as voluntary departures.
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 11 (18 percent) who left the Southern Ute Detention Center detention for these reasons: 11 with orders of recognizance, and none with an order of supervision.
Transferred to criminal custody. A total of 7 individuals (12 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.
Withdraw entry request. Individuals also leave ICE detention for a variety of additional reasons. One of these is that individuals who have been detained may be allowed to "withdraw" their request to enter the country. If a person withdraws their request, this effectively means they must leave the country. A total of 1 individuals (2 percent) fell into this category. Unlike deportation where the person is legally barred for a period of years and sometimes permanently from coming back to the United States, a person who withdraws their request is not for that reason barred from re-entry into this country.
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 Southern Ute 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 Southern Ute Detention Center during the past 12 months for the following reasons: Bonded out, Deported/Removed, Paroled and Proceedings Terminated. 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 Southern Ute Detention Center 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. A higher proportion (68 percent) left this facility as voluntary departures than was true nationally (10 percent).
In addition, differences were seen for detainees released on orders of recognizance or supervision (18 versus 5 percent), those released to the U.S. Marshal or other agency (12 versus 3 percent), and individuals released on bond (none versus 8 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 Southern Ute Detention Center had a much larger proportion of detainees from Mexico - 98 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 60 41 68.3 % 1 Mexico 59 40 67.7 % 2 Guatemala 1 1 100.0 %
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 Southern Ute Detention Center last year were: Guatemala (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%).
