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Read our new research report, "Unequal Justice: Measuring the Impact of ICE Detainers on Jail Time in Pierce County"https://jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/2019/01/30/unequal-justice-ice-detainers-pierce-county/ …
The key findings of our report: In Pierce County jail, defendants subjected to an ICE detainer spend 3.7 times longer in jail than similar defendants without detainers. Latinx people are over-represented in the population subjected to ICE detainers in Pierce County.pic.twitter.com/5pEIr2Rwk7
Understanding how local law enforcement agencies interact with ICE is important. In WA, almost half of all ICE arrests come via local jails. In Pierce Co., 61% of ICE arrests are via the jail, according to ICE data analyzed by @TRACReports. More info here: https://jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/2018/11/27/trac-ice-data-wa-state/ …pic.twitter.com/Mz6F1KnZaf
ICE detainers are controversial. In 2014, a federal judge ruled that it is unconstitutional to hold inmates beyond their release date based solely on an ICE detainer. Most local jurisdictions, including Pierce County, no longer hold inmates based solely on an ICE hold.pic.twitter.com/dsQ1RNirwf
However, research across the country has found that despite changes in policy, inmates subjected to ICE detainers still stay in jail longer. This is what we sought to investigate in Pierce County. We analyzed data on 29312 people released from jail between Oct. 2016-July 2018.pic.twitter.com/dTBlGAlDlG
(We have shared this dataset, after removing personally-identifiable information, and the code used in this analysis via @github for open-source review: https://github.com/UWCHR/ice-detainers-pierce …)pic.twitter.com/pesMRsf43L
Here's some of what we found: More than 188 cases of inmates subjected to ICE detainers in Pierce County. Hispanic or Latinx inmates were the group most likely to be targeted by ICE, with a 1 in 17 chance of a detainer. Asians/Pacific Islanders were next most likely, at 1 in 100.pic.twitter.com/ezZThLkB6X
We found that the presence of an ICE detainer on a defendant's booking sheet was associated with jail stays 3.7 times longer, than similar defendants without an ICE detainer, when controlling for race, gender, and the nature of the charges against them.pic.twitter.com/BAM8LvMsKf
Why is this happening? We can't draw strong conclusions from this data. It is important to point out that we are not claiming that Pierce County has a policy of holding inmates past their court-ordered release date based solely on ICE detainers.
However, past research and the observations of community advocates offer suggestions. Bail bond companies may not authorize bail to defendants with ICE detainers, which are publicly visible on the jail roster. Judges may set bail higher for inmates targeted by ICE. We don't know.
Alternatively, defendants targeted by ICE may decide on their own not to pay bail, assuming they will be transferred to ICE custody on release. The data does show that few people with ICE detainers pay bail for any of their charges.pic.twitter.com/HpfmDneCGF
It is important to note that according to the Department of Homeland Security's own guidelines, ICE detainers "should not impact decisions about the subject’s bail, rehabilitation, parole, release, diversion, custody classification, work, quarter assignments, or other matters."
Other researchers, like our @UW colleagues Katherine Beckett & Heather Evans, have raised additional suggestions for why ICE detainers impact jail time, including lack of pre-trial release & sentencing alternatives, complex plea negotiations, & changed incentives to go to trial.pic.twitter.com/A1Wa2BqdxC
In all this, it is important to keep in mind that compliance with ICE detainers is completely voluntary. Local law enforcement has no obligation to register detainers or notify ICE of a defendant's release. In fact, there are good reasons not to do so.
One oft-cited reason is community trust and safety. When an arrest has the possibility to lead to an ICE detainer and eventual release to ICE, community members may be less likely to report crimes. Community safety is not served by disproportionate outcomes like deportation.
Another reason is cost to taxpayers. Based on our finding that inmates with ICE detainers spent about 47 more days in jail, on average, and at a daily cost of $126 per inmate, a rough estimate of the extra cost to Pierce Co. of honoring detainers is more than a million dollars.pic.twitter.com/bOOxVaPRnr
At its core, this is an issue of equal justice and human rights. People targeted by ICE for federal civil immigration enforcement should not experience dramatically different outcomes in the criminal justice system at the local level.
Community advocates recommend policies to insulate local law enforcement from federal immigration enforcement, including: - stop notifying ICE of release of inmates without judicial warrant; - stop registering ICE detainers on jail roster visible to the public or bonds companies;pic.twitter.com/rELK8QipQW
- ensure ICE detainers are not considered by judges in when setting bail or making sentencing decisions; - limit jail interviews by ICE to cases where ICE has obtained a court order, and inform inmates of their rights.pic.twitter.com/rjc2MBjaYU
Please read our full report for more details on the points raised in this thread, and reach out to us with any comments or questions here or at uwchr@uw.edu!https://jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/2019/01/30/unequal-justice-ice-detainers-pierce-county/#_ftn15 …
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