Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America’s Children
States. Study respondents also said that the economic and social
IMPLICATIONS
conditions in Guatemala were very problematic for migrants’ return, as there was little work, especially in the rural regions of Maya Kiche.
Mexican immigrants who are
We were also told that Guatemala was very dangerous, and many
arrested in worksite operations
immigrants had already lost relatives due to ongoing crime, violence,
are more likely to choose
and persecution in that country. As a consequence, many
voluntary departure, allowing
Guatemalans did not feel that returning was a viable option, and
them to be released from
some preferred being detained to risking a return to Guatemala. Thus, Guatemalans were more likely than Mexican arrestees to fight their deportation cases.
detention quickly and potentially return to the United States eventually to rejoin their families. Family and community members may not even know
ICE detention. Most of the arrestees who did not sign voluntary
they have been arrested before
deportation orders were detained for significant amounts of time in
they leave the country.
locations far from their homes and families. In Greeley, the last group
Guatemalan, other Central
of about one dozen detainees was being released at the time of the
American, and other non-
study’s site visit, nearly five months after the raid was conducted. In
Mexican immigrants, however,
Grand Island, a handful of arrestees were still in detention nearly six months after the raid. In New Bedford, just two months after the raid, about half of the arrestees (191) were still in detention.
are generally detained for longer periods of time on average because they are more reluctant to sign voluntary departure papers; even if they
In all three sites, large numbers of detainees were moved out of state
do, it takes more time for ICE to
after initial processing. In some cases, this was likely due to lack of
arrange transportation to their
capacity in nearby ICE facilities, as some ICE detention centers are
home countries.
overcrowded.16 In other cases, women were moved to separate facilities from men. The movement of detainees to remote facilities made communication with lawyers, family members, and others that much more difficult for detainees. In Greeley, for instance, 46 out of 94 Guatemalans detained were transferred to Houston shortly after the raid. Some of the detainees from Grand Island were moved to Georgia. In New Bedford 90 arrestees were moved to two ICE facilities in Texas within the first couple of days. It was several days before consular officials, lawyers, and Massachusetts DSS workers were able to interview them. Communication by detainees with their legal representatives and loved ones was also complicated by lack of telephone access in all three sites. In some of the centers, detainees were only allowed to make outside calls using prepaid telephone cards, and these cards were only available for purchase – using funds from detention savings accounts – once per week. In many cases, the only option for detainees was to call their relatives collect at substantial cost. In one site, consular officials were allowed to lend detainees their cell phones to call their families. Otherwise, immigration lawyers and
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