Immigration Detention

It’s never fun being held in detention, whether for immigration or criminal transgressions or accusations, but more often than not, when being held on criminal charges, there are family or friends that can care for your little ones. When being held on an immigration charge, it is likely that your children are also part of the same immigration procedure, and as such are often detained as well, and in the past more often than not, they were separated from their parents. However, a recent trend has seen the building of non-criminal family detention facilities so that children and parents can remain together.

However, these facilities are not plentiful, and as such only a few of the many illegal immigrants are able to make use of them. In one way, it is good for the children that they are not forced into a detention center that has been built, and caters to, the adult population. However, we do understand that it is painful and scary for both child and parent to be separated from one another. What is important to understand is that many times, these detention centers are simply not fit for children, nor do they have the resources to help the children continue their education or work with the specific needs of immigrant children. More often than not, these children are released to a relative or friend far quicker than their parent.

While immigration detention should in no way be considered detention for a crime immediately (immigration violations are more often than not in fact civil violations), being placed in a cell or detention center often leads to people feeling as if they are being treated as a criminal, and concern for other family and children is natural.

There is a possibility, especially with the overcrowding in many of these detention facilities that people with no criminal history in their home country will be allowed to post an immigration bond while waiting for their case to be heard in immigration court. This is also in the best interest of the government, as allowing people to go on immigration bond, with or without monitoring, is far more inexpensive than housing illegal immigrants. (The average daily cost for housing an illegal immigrant is $122 per day).  That means that the average immigrant who remains in detention for one year will cost the government and tax payers $44,530.

Regardless of the reason that illegal immigrants are detained, whether it is for visa violations, criminal activity, or any other of the myriad reasons that a person can be detained, all are entitled to due process and to having their case heard before the immigration court before being deported.