Locked Up Far Away

The Transfer of Immigrants to Remote Detention Centers in the United States

I. Summary

The Impact of Transfers on Detainees’ Rights

New Data on Detainee Transfers

ICE Policy

II. Recommendations

III. Methodology

IV. The Power to Apprehend, Detain, and Deport

V. Efficient Warehousing: Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Power to Transfer Detainees

Immigration Transfers Compared with Criminal Transfers

ICE’s Internal Transfer Standards

VI. New Data on Frequency and Patterns of Detainee Transfers

Trends in the Frequencies and Types of Detainee Transfer

Geographic Patterns in Detainee Transfers

Costs of Transfer

VII. Deprivation of Access to a Lawyer

The Importance of an Immigration Attorney

Transfers Obstruct Established Attorney-Client Relationships

Interference with Transferred Detainees’ Rights to Choose Counsel

VIII. Violation of the Rights to Challenge Detention and to Fair Venue

Bond Hearings Delayed or Hindered by Transfers of Detainees

Transferred Detainees are Rarely Able to Change Venue

IX. Violation of the Right to Defend Against Deportation

X. Unfair Treatment before the Courts

Transfers Affect Ability of Refugees to Receive Asylum

XI. The Emotional Toll of Family Separation

XII. Unaccompanied Minors

Acknowledgments

Appendix