From Organization of American States
http://cidh.org/countryrep/USImmigration/TOC.htm

OEA/Ser.L/V/II.
Doc. 78/10

30 December 2010

Original: English

Spanish

REPORT ON IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED STATES: DETENTION AND DUE PROCESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
pdf

I. INTRODUCTION

II. DRAFT REPORT AND RESPONSE OF THE UNITED STATES

III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF
IMMIGRANTS

A. Right to personal liberty

1. Asylum seekers

2. Migrant families and unaccompanied children

B. Right to due process and access to justice

1. Right to judicial protection and to a habeas corpus petition

2. Right to seek asylum

C. The right to humane treatment during detention

1. Right to medical care

2. Right to be separated from criminal inmates

3. Right to be notified of transfer to other detention
establishments

4. Right to have a duly trained and qualified personnel and independent supervision at the place of detention

5. Right to an established disciplinary policy and to due process

6. The right to an effective procedure for petition and response

7. Obligation to investigate deaths that occur during detention

8. Specific rights of asylum seekers in detention

9. Adherence to UN Principles for the detention of unaccompanied children

D. Other relevant human rights

1. The principle of equality and nondiscrimination

2. Rights to family life, to privacy and the inviolability of the home

IV. THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION'S OBSERVATIONS AND CONCERNS
REGARDING IMMIGRATION DETENTION, DETENTION CONDITIONS AND
THE EFFECT ON DUE PROCESS

A. Detentions and immigration enforcement in the United States

1. General issues

2. Noncitizens detained at the border, port of entry or nearby

a. Expedited removal

b. Arriving aliens

c. The new guidelines on parole for arriving noncitizens
seeking asylum

3. Noncitizens in the U.S. interior

a. Enforcement of Federal Law by Federal Immigration Officers

i. Worksite Enforcement Unit

ii. Fugitive Operations Teams

b. Immigration enforcement at the state and local levels

i. Immigration detention of nonciticizens
convicted of crimes or arrested on criminal
charges (The Criminal Alien Program and
Secure Communities Program)

ii. Delegation of Civil Immigration Enforcement
to State and Local Law Enforcement (State
and local partnerships for enforcing civil
immigration laws under 287(g) agreements)

4. Bond

5. Indefinite detention of noncitizens who cannot be deported

B. Conditions of immigrant detention

1. The absence of a civil detention system

2. ICE mechanisms of supervision and accountability with
regard to detention conditions

3. Medical care of immigration detainees

4. Mental health care of detained immigrants

5. Food services

6. Living conditions

7. Telephone access

8. Outdoor recreation

9. Attorney-client meetings and family visits

10. Access to legal resources

11. Discipline

12. Grievance procedures

13. Some reforms recently introduced or proposed for the
future to the detention conditions of immigrant detainees

C. Detention of families and children

1. Immigrant families

2. Unaccompanied children

D. Impact of detentions on immigrants´ due process

1. Lack of access to legal representation during detention

2. Prevalence of stipulated orders of removal

3. ICE delays in filing notices to appear

4. Pervasive use of transfers between detention facilities

5. Concerns with the use of video conferencing for credible fear interviews
and merits hearings

6. Due process for vulnerable groups

a. Unaccompanied children

b. Immigrant detainees with mental disabilities

V. FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Interior Enforcement Recommendations

1. Federal Enforcement Programs

2. State and Local Partnership Enforcement Programs

B. Detention recommendations

1. Mandatory detention of arriving aliens and deportable
immigrants with criminal convictions

2. Custody determinations and alternatives to detention

3. Civil detention system

C. Civil detention conditions

1. Medical and mental health care

D. Due process recommendations

E. Recommendations on families and unaccompanied children

Submission of the Government of the United States to the IACHR with respect to the Draft Report on Immigration in the United States: Detention and Due Process

Document published thanks to the financial support of Spain.
Positions herein expressed are those of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and do not reflect the views of Spain.