BTC Report 3-15-13 – final draft

Broward Transitional Center:
A ‘Model’ for Civil Detention

Americans for Immigrant Justice
March 2013

pg. 1

Broward Transitional Center:
A ‘Model’ for Civil Detention
By Susana Barciela and Cheryl Little

With the indispensable contributions of AI Justice Attorneys:
Franco Torres
Jessica Shulruff
Romy Lerner
Losmin Jimenez
Lana Chiariello
&
Sharon Ginter
Lori Dubbin

For further information contact
Cheryl Little, Executive Director
Susana Barciela, Policy Director, or
Sharon Ginter, Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director
Americans for Immigrant Justice
3000 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 400
Miami, Florida 33137
Tel (305) 573-1106
Fax (305) 576-6273
http://aijustice.org/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Americans-for-Immigrant-Justice/161623690589217

pg. 2

Our Work at Americans for Immigrant Justice
AI Justice is an award winning, nationally recognized pro bono law firm that protects the basic
right of America’s immigrants. Many of our clients have fallen victim to human rights violations
such as slavery, denial of a legitimate asylum claim, abuses while detained, and lack of due
process in a barely functional immigration court system that does not ensure legal representation
for those who face deportation. Our lawyers have closed over 80,000 cases of vulnerable
immigrants from Central and South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

Comment [s1]: Page 3-4 : Box “I’m a big fan of
what they do and I’m a big fan, incidentally, of the
great work you’re doing in Washington D.C.”
-Al Cardenas , chairman, American Conservative
Union

AI Justice is the rare organization that works both nationwide and on the frontline of human
rights in Florida. Grounded in real-world, real-people experience, AI Justice’s free direct work
with immigrant clients informs its broader policy work. Its multicultural and multilingual staff
works to build alliances between immigrant and non-immigrant groups, including government,
civil, social and faith-based communities. AI Justice is a non-partisan organization, with highprofile members of both parties on its Board and Advisory Board. AI Justice’s advocacy and
services has skyrocketed, making our mission more relevant than ever.
From FIAC to AI Justice
In 2011, seeing hardening attitudes toward immigrants nationwide, AI Justice decided to step up
its advocacy for sensible immigration policies and reform. This renewed determination prompted
a national agenda and a name change to Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice) from
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC). While continuing to defend human rights by
representing vulnerable immigrants, AI Justice provides “boots on the ground” experience that
informs smart and workable national immigration policy.
Our Washington, D.C., Office Director extends AI Justice’s policy influence. Four former AI
Justice staffers now work on The Hill. They are Deputy Assistant for Policy, Department of
Homeland Security (DHS); Immigration Counsel to Senator Harry Reid; Staff Director, U.S.
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security; and Democratic
Chief Counsel to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. At
least 10 former staff have become asylum officers with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) or work at DHS.
AI Justice testifies before Congress, challenges government abuses in federal court, and informs
the public on critical immigration policy.
In 2012 alone, we submitted four statements for congressional hearings. One statement addressed
racial profiling; others focused on detention abuses, including sexual assault and medical care. 1
During a May House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Violence Against Women Act, Rep.
Zoe Lofgren read the stories of two survivors of domestic violence who had been clients of AI
Justice’s LUCHA director. LUCHA’s director also testified before the ABA Commission on
Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities last year on human trafficking, focusing on client
stories. 2

pg. 3

Comment [s2]: “Such successes have turned [AI
Justice] into a powerhouse in national advocacy for
persecuted migrants too poor to hire a lawyer.” -The Miami Herald, January 2, 2006

In April 2012, our Executive Director wrote an op-ed column, Rubio proposal offers way toward
Dream Act, which urged the administration to provide Dreamers provisional status. 3 Asked by
Dreamers to meet with Administration staff, she wrote a legal brief on provisional status and
urged the White House staff to offer deferred action.4 Further, in January 2013, AI Justice cohosted The Haitian Diaspora, a one day seminar in Washington, D.C., with panels on separation
of Haitian families, Haitian deportations, refugee polices and a discussion with U.S. government
officials.
AI Justice’s Detention Program director co-chairs the national Detention Watch Network and
contributed to the network’s Expose and Close reports on 10 of the worst immigrant prisons in
the United States. 5 Our Executive Director served on the Immigration Detention Standards
Committee of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission and submitted oral and written
testimony to that commission.6 She also testified numerous times before Congress regarding
immigration issues, including on Detainee Medical Care at the U.S. House Subcommittee on
Immigration in 2007. 7 AI Justice clients also have testified before the House and Senate on
issues of human trafficking, asylum, detention and unaccompanied minors facing deportation.
Among our reports are:
• After the Earthquake – Haitian Children Seeking Safety in the United States. 8
• Unleash the DREAM: End the Colossal Waste of Young Immigrant Talent. 9
• Dying for Decent Care: Bad Medicine in Immigration Custody. 10
• Securing our Borders: Post 9/11 Scapegoating of Immigrants. 11
• Haitian Refugees: A People in Search of Hope.12
• INS Detainees in Florida: A Double Standard of Treatment. 13
• Cries for Help: Medical Care at Krome Service Processing Center and in Florida’s County
Jails. 14
• Florida County Jails: INS’s Secret Detention World. 15

pg. 4

Comment [s3]:
“South Florida immigration attorney Cheryl Little,
raises a more direct challenge to President Obama’s
Department of Homeland Security. It already has
the discretionary authority to allow temporary legal
status to Dreamers. Rubio’s “solution” doesn’t need
Congress to pass a law.”
Myriam Marquez. Miami Herald, April 21, 2012

Comment [s4]: Is it possible to add links to the
beginning page of each chapter

Table of Contents

• Introduction: ‘A Model’ for Civil Detention
• A Brief History of BTC
• The Failure to Exercise Discretion
• Asylum Seekers at Risk
• Sympathetic Dreamers
• Haitians Detained Indefinitely, Again
• Medical Mistreatment
• Sexual Assault
• Legal Access Concerns at BTC
• Gratuitous Abuses
• Questionable Due Process
• Recommendations
• Acronyms

pg. 5

Introduction:
‘A Model’ for Civil Detention
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced plans to reform our nation’s
troubled immigrant detention facility in 2009, ICE promoted the Broward Transitional Center
(BTC) as a model for “civil” detention.16 ICE Chief John Morton noted that BTC only housed
nonviolent detainees, among them asylum seekers. An ICE detention reform list of
accomplishments further noted that BTC “offers a less restrictive, yet secure environment.” 17
AI Justice’s response, as then noted in the New York Times, 18 remains unchanged. BTC may
offer a better environment than a local jail, but the vast majority of its detainees have committed
no crimes or only minor infractions. They are precisely the population that ICE should release:
people who pose no threat to their communities and should not be locked up in detention, even if
it is a less punitive detention.
Ensuring that ICE does not detain people needlessly is particularly urgent now, as immigration
reform is percolating in Congress. Even as we were finalizing this report, ICE was releasing
thousands of immigrant detainees across the nation because of looming federal budget cuts
triggered by sequestration. 19
Needlessly Detained
ICE said it released “non-criminals and other low-risk offenders who do not have serious
criminal histories.” 20 Among those were about a dozen detainees who AI Justice had been
helping at BTC. One of them is a victim of domestic violence who had been detained for more
than nine months. At the average cost of $164 a day per detainee, her unnecessary detention cost
taxpayers upward of $44,000.21
If ICE can release such detainees in mass now, why detain them at all? And why should
taxpayers foot the bill for all these detentions? It makes no sense to spend that much money
when community programs successfully monitor these detainees for $14 per day per person or
less.
Meanwhile, ICE detainees who remain detained continue to suffer from sexual assault,
substandard medical care, improper isolation, excessive use of force, abysmal conditions, and the
lack of due process, legal counsel and meaningful oversight.
Requests for Release
In Florida, Marc Moore, ICE’s Field Director for Enforcement and Detention Operations,
addresses local issues. In all fairness, he has responded to many AI Justice requests for improved
BTC conditions and for the release of detainees. When we met with him in late November 2012
to discuss complaints related to this report, Mr. Moore temporarily assigned Assistant Field
Office Director (AFOD), Paul Candemeres to replace the former BTC AFOD. AI Justice
immediately saw measurable improvements.
Mr. Candemeres quickly released a number of AI Justice clients, including two victims of
domestic violence who were suffering from depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

pg. 6

Comment [s5]: Box: “At the average cost of
$164 a day per detainee, her unnecessary detention
cost taxpayers upward of $44,000.”

(PTSD) as a result. At other times, high-ranking ICE and Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) officials also have intervened to secure the release of BTC detainees with compelling
cases and medical conditions.
However, we remain concerned about serious problems, among them: the failure to exercise
prosecutorial discretion, medical mistreatment, detainee-on-detainee sexual abuse and
harassment, and the lack of due process.
AI Justice well knows BTC. For years our attorneys routinely have conducted Know Your
Rights presentations and represented detainees there. Since 2011, GEO staff has been
cooperative in providing our attorney access, space and assistance in providing these
presentations on a regular basis.
In 2009, BTC increased its capacity from 530 detention beds to 700 beds. Currently, 595 beds
are designated for men and 105 for women under a federal government contract with the GEO
Group, a private prison corporation.22 That contract costs taxpayers more than $20 million a
year. 23 Meanwhile, detention conditions at BTC continue to dehumanize individuals who should
not have been detained in the first place.
Fundamental Problem
An incident in November 2010 sums up a fundamental problem. An AI Justice attorney was
standing next to two GEO officers at the BTC front desk when one officer turned to her and had
the following exchange:
Officer: “I don’t know how you do what you do. It’s not like they are people.”
Attorney: “They absolutely are people.”
Officer: “Yeah, but not under the Constitution.”
Attorney: “They absolutely have rights under the U.S. Constitution, even if they don’t
have all the rights of U.S. citizens.”
BOX
Such a comment by a detention officer raises central concerns. If officers in a “model” civil
detention facility view detainees as subhuman and treat them as such, how much worse are
detainees treated in local jails, state prisons and other for-profit prisons contracted by ICE? It’s
not surprising, then, that evidence suggests detainee abuse is widespread.
One detainee well described such dehumanizing treatment. In the aftermath of an attempted
suicide by a woman at BTC in May 2011, the detainee was worried about another woman
detainee who seemed suicidal:
“There are a lot of women here who are scared and depressed, and many who
have been hospitalized with mental-health problems. One woman was crying all
the time and refusing to eat because she had been separated from her husband. We
were very worried about her, so a couple of women and I wrote a letter to the
immigration officials, telling them what was happening and requesting that she
and her husband be placed in the same facility. One of the ICE officers came to
talk to us; he told us that we were not allowed to send joint letters to them and that

pg. 7

Comment [s6]:
BOX: “The best way to help immigration detainees
is not to roll out the welcome mat at detention
facilities. It is to process illegal immigrants for
removal more expeditiously.”
--Then U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R.C.A.), before
House Subcommittee hearing, “Holiday on ICE,”
March 28, 2012

Comment [s7]: Box: Executive Summary “ICE
Detention Reforms have transformed into a
detention system aimed at providing resort like
living conditions to criminal aliens.”
Statement by 7,000 ICE union members who
unanimously ratified a “Vote of No Confidence.”
June 25, 2010.

we had broken the rules by sending a group letter. I felt really bad – I had been
trying to help this woman and instead I just got in trouble.
“I hate being in detention because I hate the way the guards treat me and the other
women here. They make me feel like I am not a person, and they treat us like we
are animals. The deportation officers pressure people to sign deportation orders,
and I have seen them laughing in the hallway after convincing people not to fight
their cases. It makes me really upset because the women being deported are
terrified and they are returning to really difficult and dangerous conditions in their
home countries. The guards should not laugh at them.” 24
BOX
Despite extensive remodeling during its last expansion, BTC continues to have obvious
problems. For example:

Comment [s8]:
“I hate being in detention because I hate the way
the guards treat me and the other women here.
They make me feel like I am not a person, and
they treat us like we are animals. “
BTC detainee, May 2011.

•

BTC has been touted as a model. But as Justice’s Executive Director said to Al Jazeera, it
certainly is not an alternative to detention, which is what ICE officials said to expect
when BTC opened. We believed that BTC would be releasing detainees who pose no
security risk – and still believe BTC should do so. 25

•

Three detainees attempted suicide at BTC in 2011, according to a 2012 federal
inspection. The review also noted that 10 detainees referred to outside psychiatrists were
not seen within two weeks as required by ICE standards.26

•

Male detainees reported being sexually abused by other detainees in 2012, but BTC
officials took no apparent action to investigate the abuse claim, protect the victim from
further abuse, or offer counseling.

•

Many BTC detainees fall outside of ICE’s enforcement priorities, yet there have been
significant delays in responses to release requests or denials of meritorious cases. Some
deportation officers have failed to respond to repeated inquiries by attorneys about cases.

Comment [s9]: BOXES this page:
“Some of the reports coming out of [BTC] are
horrifying.”
—Letter from lawmakers to ICE Director John
Morton, September 2011

•

ICE has failed to provide credible and reasonable fear interviews to detainees who have
expressed a fear of return and has deported detainees without doing so. Some detainees
who passed credible fear interviews have been told that they have to proceed with their
immigration cases while detained, which hampers their ability to obtain documents and
other proof needed to make their case.

“It’s well past time that these serious issues [at
BTC] be addressed.” U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch , to the
Sun Sentinel, January 2013

•

BTC has no resident mental health professional. 27 Many detainees are given antidepressants and other medications that have a sedating effect – instead of mental health
therapy or a release order.

•

Women who are taken to receive mental health counseling outside BTC are shackled
during transport. Many of these women are embarrassed when they walk into the waiting
room with uniformed guards. This detracts from their therapy.

pg. 8

•

Detainees reported that GEO staff frequently yells at them. Detainees also say that staff
single out certain detainees for punishment and scrutiny while providing special
treatment to others, often based on racial and ethnic considerations. In January, for
example, women detainees talked about an African American guard who was throwing
things and yelling at them.

•

In September 2012, one detainee told AI Justice attorneys that: “The security guards at
BTC treat us like we are nobody, like we are not human beings. We are not criminals. We
are just immigrants.”

•

Access to recreation at BTC continues to depend on detainee gender: Men have regular
access to fresh air while women may only go outside for a few hours a day.

•

Detainees pay exorbitant rates to telephone family and friends. Detainees report that they
must pay from $1.50 to $3 a minute for phone calls.

•

Detainees are paid $1 a day to work in the cafeteria and other areas at BTC. In doing so,
GEO Group takes advantage of a captive population.

•

Though the “paid” work is said to be voluntary, AI Justice clients have not understood
that message. One AI Justice client said BTC staff told detainee women that if they didn’t
work, there would be no food and they would not eat. 28 Another client was desperate for
the pay to call her children. Other detainees need the money for immigration court filing
fees, calls to loved ones or snacks.
BOX
One Sunday in May 2011, BTC detainees were served rotten chicken. Numerous
detainees complained of food poisoning and were sick for several days. Mr. Moore said
the Broward County Health Department said it could not pinpoint the cause of detainee’s
sudden gastrointestinal problems. 29

•

•

The same month, AI Justice heard credible rumors that a BTC officer in charge of
recreation had female detainees sew tablecloths for her private business and did not
compensate the women. 30

•

BTC’s longtime GEO Group administrator resigned abruptly in March 2011 without
explanation.

•

For the 12 month period ending October 2012, an average of 33 male detainees
voluntarily attended AI Justice’s weekly Know Your Rights presentations at BTC. At one
point, 70 to 80 male detainees were coming to the sessions. These numbers reflect the
great need for legal help and attorney representation.31

•

Since 2012, AI Justice has seen hundreds of detainees at BTC who have experienced
brutal treatment in CBP “hieleras” in Texas. These holding cells have no beds, no chairs,
and a single sink and toilet sitting in plain view. Detainees, many of them asylum seekers
and victims of domestic violence, huddle on the floor for warmth and are fed sparsely.

pg. 9

Comment [s10]: “This hearing is entitled,
‘Holiday on ICE,’ because ICE has decided to
upgrade accommodations for detained illegal and
criminal immigrants.” Statement by Judiciary
Committee Chairman, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith.
March 28, 2012.

Many ultimately agree to sign documents they could neither read nor understand, only to
find they have agreed to accept expedited removal from the United States. AI Justice has
filed Federal Tort Claims actions seeking damages on behalf of four immigrants who
were subjected to such inhumane and unlawful treatment by CBP. 32
•

In summer 2012, two undocumented activists from Dream Activist and the National
Immigrant Youth Alliance deliberately got themselves detained at BTC. Among the
abuses they exposed was that of a woman who had complained of excessive menstrual
bleeding. A month later, BTC sent her out for surgery. Returned to BTC the same day,
she suffered severe hemorrhaging.33 BTC has been in the limelight since then, following
a detainee hunger strike and activists demanding an end to the detention and deportation
of immigrants with minor or no criminal histories.

And BTC is an ICE “model” for civil detention?
This report includes numerous issues that raise serious complaints. In fact, many examples of
abuses at BTC were not included because the cases were too sensitive to reference.
In late 2012, the Broward/Palm Beach New Times and the South Florida Sun Sentinel both
published in-depth news stories on abuses at BTC. ICE’s Miami Field Office Director, Marc
Moore, denied the activists claims of mistreatment at BTC. He described BTC conditions as
excellent, telling the Sun Sentinel that the “staff here treats people with respect.” 34
Nonetheless, 26 U.S. House members signed a letter to ICE Director Morton in September 2012
complaining of lengthy detention periods and medical mistreatment at BTC. Organized by Rep.
Ted Deutch, whose district encompasses BTC, the letter urged a “thorough case-by-case review”
of each BTC detainee. Three months later, the Congressman followed with another letter noting
the “excessive delay” in responding and hoping that the reviews had been “completed or nearly
completed. Finally, on Jan. 9, 2013, Rep. Deutch received a response that he believed to be
inadequate. 35 To our knowledge, case reviews have yet to be undertaken by ICE at BTC.
U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren also wrote a letter of concern in September 2012, this one to DHS
Secretary Janet Napolitano. The letter recalled a 2009 ICE claim that the agency was “more
actively housing non-criminal, non-violent populations” at appropriate facilities, including BTC.
Rep. Lofgren questioned whether alternatives to detention would be more cost-effective with
these populations and “limited resources should continue to be expended on persons who appear
such low priorities.” She also asked for “a prompt review of BTC” to ensure the facility is in line
with DHS policies. 36
Indeed, why should U.S. taxpayers spend an average of $164 a day for detainees who are not a
priority, especially at BTC where detainees, by definition, pose no threat to their communities or
national security? The National Immigration Forum estimates that ICE detention will cost
taxpayers $5.4 million per day – or nearly $2 billion for the 2013 fiscal year. 37
Alternatives to detention are effective and far cheaper. Existing program costs run from 30 cents
to $14 per day. If ICE was truly focused on detaining and deporting dangerous criminals, it

pg. 10

Comment [s11]: BOX
“To its credit, this Administration… admitted that
the system was broken. A fundamental change
was necessary to prevent the suffering and death
and to make immigration detention suitable for
its civil population.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren column, Immigration detention
is no ‘holiday.’ The Hill’s Congress Blog. March 30,
2012.

would save more than a billion dollars annually. 38 The savings would certainly help relieve the
“fiscal cliff” crisis.
Meanwhile, until ICE reforms detention centers such as BTC, detainees will continue to suffer
abusive and dehumanizing treatment, as the examples in this report attest.

pg. 11

A Brief History of BTC
The facility now known as BTC began in 2002. The then Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) 39 contracted 72 beds of a work-release facility from a firm now called the GEO Group. 40
The facility sits across the street from a massive landfill. A private prison company, GEO has
been widely criticized for its questionable practices and prisoner abuses over the years. 41 Most
recently, its $6 million donation to name a university football stadium has drawn fire from
outraged students, activists, former BTC detainees and their supporters. 42
BTC’s first immigrant detainees were 50 Haitian women who had been detained at a MiamiDade maximum-security county jail where they endured abysmal conditions after their boat ran
aground in the Florida Keys. 43 AI Justice – then known as the Florida Immigrant Advocacy
Center (FIAC) – denounced the women’s treatment and demanded improved treatment. BTC
was supposed to be the solution, but still hasn’t achieved the promise.
BOX
Early on, BTC called its facility an “alternative to detention” even though immigrants were
locked up 24-hours a day. For years detainees were allowed to wear their own clothes -- today
men wear orange jumpsuits, women dress in grey. Women also had broader access to outdoor
recreation than they have today. Yet by 2004, AI Justice and the Women’s Refugee
Commission 44 complained that, “Conditions at BTC have failed to improve, and in some cases,
have even deteriorated.” 45
For example, women were “often denied timely and effective healthcare” and few received
mental-health counseling. Detainees were asked to sign documents they did not understand. BTC
staff imposed their religious beliefs on detainees and, in one case, delayed a rape victim’s release
after she requested an abortion.46
The condescending treatment encountered at times by female asylum seekers was reflected in
staff culture and training. In 2004, for example, we reviewed a BTC Detention Manual that
included “social tips.” It told detainees not to spit or blow their nose on the floor, walls or in the
sink. It also added that: “Americans are very conscious of personal hygiene and, therefore,
detainees should shower, brush their teeth and change their undergarments every day.”
Underlying these “tips” was the assumption that foreign-born women engaged in socially
unacceptable behavior. 47
The manual was finally revised after AI Justice and the Women’s Refugee Commission filed a
complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in June 2004. 48 In
September 2005, GEO Group responded saying that BTC had “removed these alleged insensitive
suggestions from all detainee handbooks.” 49
Similar complaints persist at BTC today.
Bigger, Not Better
Over the years the facility grew. In 2009, BTC expanded to 700 beds from 530 beds. ICE
continues to contract BTC beds from the GEO Group, and the demand for pro bono legal
assistance has dramatically increased. AI Justice has not been granted targeted funding for work

pg. 12

Comment [s12]:
“What we are seeing today with the acquisition
of the Wackenhut facility is the result of many
months of work listening to the concerns of our
communities and doing what we could to provide
the best possible detention environment for our
detainees.”
INS Miami Acting District Director John M. Bulger,
August 12, 2002

at BTC and has scarce funding for detention work. Yet we expanded our services since no other
non-profit group has a presence there. We have provided free Know Your Rights presentations at
BTC for years, now about six times a month. We also represent detainees with individual cases
and refer other cases to American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) attorneys who
already have agreed to provide pro bono representation. All of our services are free.
Two AI Justice attorneys routinely see detainees at BTC. Both of them provide detainees with
legal information packets tailored to their immigration situation so they can better advocate for
themselves if necessary. The AI Justice attorneys offer free legal consultations to unrepresented
detainees, including assessing whether detainees may be eligible for an immigration benefit, for
AI Justice assistance, or for referral to pro bono or private legal services. One of our attorneys is
an Equal Justice Works Fellow who has recruited a squadron of law school interns and
volunteers, which has enabled him to increase the number of detainees getting legal help.
Our attorneys also appreciate the professionalism of the GEO staff that coordinates Know Your
Rights presentations and access to detainees in need of legal assistance. These GEO officers have
been very accommodating and genuinely nice with AI Justice staff.
Over the years, AI Justice has written numerous letters of complaint and has had meetings with
ICE and GEO officials regarding conditions at BTC. We have raised concerns -- including
inadequate medical and mental health care offered detainees, female detainee access to
recreation, the lack of adequate translators, scarce confidential attorney-client visitation space,
limited access to the law library, failure to provide adequate space for the immigration court, and
questionable staff attitudes -- with some success. AI Justice has also called for investigations by
the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties into abuses at BTC.
AI Justice continues to document and denounce inhumane treatment of BTC detainees and to
advocate for improvement. In many cases we ask BTC staff no more than to follow existing ICE
policy and practices. Even so, some complaints have persisted for years.

pg. 13

Comment [s13]: Text box:
“AI Justice attorneys appreciate the professionalism
of the GEO staff that coordinates Know Your Rights
presentations and access to detainees in need of legal
assistance.”

The Failure to Exercise Discretion
In an effort to unclog backlogged immigration courts and better target dangerous criminals and
national security threats, ICE announced in 2011 that it would review 300,000 pending
deportation cases nationwide and exercise “prosecutorial discretion’’ to allow immigrants who
were low priority cases to avoid deportation.
The previous year, 7,000 ICE union members unanimously ratified a “Vote of No Confidence.”
Their statement said:
ICE “Director John Morton and Assistant Director Phyllis Coven have abandoned
the Agency’s core mission of enforcing United States Immigration Laws… and
have instead directed their attention to campaigning for programs and policies
related to amnesty….” 50
BOX
Subsequently, union members resisted efforts to decline to be trained on prosecutorial discretion,
which has had a lasting impact on how well this program was implemented at immigration
detention centers, including BTC.51
Two memos issued by ICE Director Morton on June 17, 2011 provide guidance, not only for a
formal review of immigration court cases, but also for ICE enforcement and detention
operations. The memos, for example, provide guidance on whether to detain or grant deferred
action status to immigrants. In any given case, ICE officers may consider “ties and contributions
to the community, including family relationships, among other factors.” 52
Further, the age at which a child is brought to the U.S. and educational accomplishment are
specifically mentioned as factors to consider. This refers to youth who came to the United States,
have been educated here and may someday be eligible for legal status under the pending
DREAM Act in Congress. 53
Though the announcement sparked great expectations, few detainees actually have been granted
prosecutorial discretion by ICE’s program nationwide. AI Justice remains deeply concerned with
the agency’s failure to date to exercise discretion over its detained cases and its commitment to
exercising its discretion going forward. The national numbers are damning: As of May 29, 2012,
only 40 of 56,180 detained cases – less than 1 % -- had been found eligible for administrative
closure. 54
AI Justice actually saw an increase in the number of BTC detainees who are or should be among
ICE’s lowest enforcement priorities and whose detention contradicts ICE’s stated policy under
ICE’s 2011 memos. 55 At one point in 2011, BTC’s Assistant Field Office Director told an AI
Justice attorney that there was absolutely no basis to grant deferred action to DREAMers
because, “There is no DREAM Act.”
When the attorney noted the Administration’s repeated references to the DREAM Act and ICE’s
stated intent not to target these students, BTC’s AFOD said he knew how headquarters felt, but
headquarters didn’t have to review the requests from DREAM Act eligible kids like he did.56

pg. 14

Comment [s14]:
“Prosecutorial discretion policy cannot be
effectively applied in the field and has the
potential to completely overwhelm ICE’s limited
manpower resources or result in the
indiscriminate and large scale release of aliens
encountered in all ICE law enforcement
operations.”
Chris Crane, ICE Union President, Oct. 12, 2011.

Even BTC detainees with attorneys have had an uphill battle getting prosecutorial discretion
approved. Worse, the vast majority of these detainees have no legal help.
Not Threats
Thus, despite ICE’s stated commitment to properly screen for potential prosecutorial discretion
candidates, BTC continues to detain individuals who pose no flight risk or danger to public
safety or national security. At a November 2012 meeting with South Florida AILA members,
local ICE officials laid out their rationale:
“The [prosecutorial discretion] memos must be read in their totality, and the
agency reserves the right to take action on a case that is not on the list of
enforcement priorities. Finally, it is noted that, just because a case may not
represent an enforcement priority does not mean that ICE will not take action in
that case – it is just a question of resources.” 57
Meanwhile, AI Justice remains troubled that many prosecutorial discretion candidates are not
being identified on a timely basis or advised that they may be eligible for release or relief from
deportation. We also object to using taxpayer dollars to needlessly detain, deport and separate
families.
In October 2012, AI Justice sent ICE a list of seven BTC detainees who were good candidates
for prosecutorial discretion. Among them were individuals potentially eligible for a range of
immigration remedies such as U and T visas, deferred action, asylum or family-based petitions.
At first, the only response to the letter seeking release came from three BTC deportation officers
asking if AI Justice was going to submit detailed, formal requests. Unfortunately, the two AI
Justice attorneys who regularly visit BTC do not have the resources to screen hundreds of
individuals, much less to represent every BTC detainee with a worthy case. Nor would we have
to screen so many BTC detainees if ICE were to follow its own guidelines.
Among the prosecutorial discretion candidates cited in the letter were:
•

A detainee who came to this country at age 13 after being sexually abused. He had been in
the United States for 15 years and suffered domestic violence while here. In mid December
he was ordered deported. 58

•

A detainee who fled his Central American homeland in 1997 after gangs threatened his life
and demanded payments to keep his family from being killed. His wife has TPS, and he has
four U.S. citizen children, including a young daughter who has a medical issue that requires
monthly visits to a specialist. 59 This detainee finally was released under bond in January.

Subsequently, at a November 2012 meeting, Mr. Moore, ICE’s Florida Field Office Director, and
Mr. Candemeres, BTC’s temporary Assistant Field Office Director, informed AI Justice staff
that BTC already had released a number of detainees profiled in our October 2012 letter. Soon
after the meeting, BTC granted longstanding requests to release at least five other detainees.

pg. 15

Comment [s15]: “The deportation officers
pressure people to sign deportation orders, and I
have seen them laughing in the hallway after
convincing people not to fight their cases.”
– BTC Detainee, 2011

Wasted Taxpayer Dollars
BTC detains a variety of individuals who, by ICE’s own definition, should be eligible for
prosecutorial discretion. They include pregnant and nursing mothers, primary caregivers of
minor children, U.S. military veterans, victims of domestic violence and other serious crimes,
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) eligible youth, individuals without criminal
records, arriving immigrants who have been found to have a credible fear or reasonable fear of
returning to their home countries, and those who have lived in the United States for more than 10
years or have U.S. citizen or permanent resident family members.
In a September 2012 letter regarding concerns at BTC, U.S. Rep. Lofgren well questioned
whether alternatives to detention would be more cost-effective with these populations and
“limited resources should continue to be expended on persons who appear such low priorities.” 60
Indeed, why should U.S. taxpayers spend an average of $164 a day on a detainee who is not a
priority -- especially at BTC where detainees, by definition, pose little to no threat to their
communities or to national security?
The following are examples of low-priority detainees who, according to DHS policy, should not
have been detained or, worse, targeted for deportation.
Abused by Traffickers
Miriam 61, a victim of a severe form of sex trafficking, was eligible for a T Visa, which would
provide her legal status. Yet BTC refused to release her – even after another ICE agency
requested her to be released from ICE detention.
Miriam’s traffickers had made false promises of legitimate work. Instead, they forced her to
work as a prostitute against her will. Once her abusers learned that she lacked legal immigration
status, they threatened to have her jailed and deported, pressured her to work long hours and pay
them a large cut of her earnings. She even had to pay them when she was sick or was not paid by
a customer. Miriam never imagined that she could be forced to work as a prostitute in the land of
liberty. 62
In short, traffickers used Miriam’s lack of status to force her into prostitution in the United
States. Ultimately, she was picked up and detained by ICE. In 2011, AI Justice identified Miriam
as a victim of human trafficking at BTC and helped her report the crimes against her to
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), an ICE agency that investigates crimes such as human
trafficking. Soon thereafter, HSI initiated a criminal investigation based on the information she
provided.
The following month, AI Justice sent a request for Miriam’s release to her deportation officer.
We never received a response.
Though she was terrified of her traffickers, Miriam willingly continued to assist in the
investigation. After careful consideration, HSI indicated that she would be better able to assist
the investigation if not detained. Thus, HSI requested BTC’s AFOD to release Miriam and place
her in an alternative to detention program. For reasons unknown to AI Justice, the AFOD denied
the request of the ICE trafficking investigators – HIS -- to release Miriam from BTC.

pg. 16

Comment [s16]: Text box: “Why would BTC
deny another ICE agency that had good reason to
request the release of a cooperating victim? Why risk
slowing down or compromising an ongoing criminal
investigation?”

HSI appeared surprised and confused by BTC’s decision, and with good reason. Why would
BTC deny another ICE agency that had good reason to request the release of a cooperating
victim? Why risk slowing down or compromising an ongoing criminal investigation?
Ultimately, HSI pulled out all stops to expedite a request for Miriam to get “continued presence,”
a temporary immigration status provided by law enforcement to people identified as victims of
human trafficking who assist in the criminal investigation.63 BTC released Miriam only after she
was granted continued presence, and AI Justice renewed her release request, this time sending it
to Mr. Moore, ICE’s Florida Field Office Director. Finally, after more than four months of
detention, BTC released her.
As a trafficking victim, Miriam suffered extensive trauma and requires ongoing support,
including counseling and other social services. Yet BTC provided no trauma services or mentalhealth therapy despite her lengthy and unwarranted detention.
AI Justice assisted Miriam in filing an application for a T visa, which offers a path to permanent
legal status. The application remains pending at USCIS. She continues to cooperate with HSI in
their criminal investigation of her traffickers. Meanwhile, Miriam is receiving comprehensive
services from the International Rescue Committee, including the counseling she did not receive
while detained at BTC.
Victim Denied Release Beatriz 64, a victim of domestic violence, had lived in the United States
for more than 10 years with no criminal record. Because she cooperated with law enforcement in
the investigation of domestic violence, she was eligible to seek legal status via a U visa. Even so,
after being brought to BTC in 2012, she needlessly remained detained there for more than three
months.
Beatriz had been a victim of domestic violence for more than a decade but was terrified to call
the police. Speaking of her ex-partner, she said:
“He told me that the police would not help me if I called them because I was
illegal in the United States. He said that the police would deport me if I called
them. I was scared that I would be killed by the murderers if I was sent back to
my country, and so I did not call the police. I felt like I had no way out. I was
scared and depressed, and I felt physically sick because of what was happening to
me.” 65
One day, the ex-partner attacked their son, and that was the last straw. She reported the domestic
violence to the police, who arrested the abusive ex-partner. Beatriz cooperated in the
investigation and prosecution of the crime against her and her son and obtained a restraining
order against the ex-partner. Thus, Beatriz was eligible for a U visa. According to the Morton
memo regarding victims, her being a victim of domestic violence with a corroborating police
report should have been sufficient to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.66

pg. 17

Comment [s17]: “One day, the ex-partner
attacked their son, and that was the last straw. She
reported the domestic violence to the police.”

AI Justice submitted a release request on her behalf, including a police report documenting the
abuse against her. 67 However, her deportation officer denied the request. The denial letter failed
to address Beatriz’s domestic violence and U Visa eligibility. The letter said, “There is no
demonstrable evidence that her removal would visit hardship on her family beyond what is
typically occasioned by removal.” 68 Yet family hardship is not required for release.
Subsequently, the deportation officer told AI Justice that Beatriz’s request was denied because
she had entered the United States on a visa waiver program and was not eligible for bond.
That should not have barred Beatriz from being released, either, because she was not subject to
mandatory detention. Moreover, Director Morton’s memo makes specific provisions for
prosecutorial discretion for victims of domestic violence, such as Beatriz.
The deportation officer further told AI Justice that Beatriz would only be released once the U
Visa was certified. Yet such certification is not required to release victims of crimes such as
domestic violence. Still, BTC needlessly prolonged her detention. Given her clear eligibility for a
path to permanent legal status via a U Visa, Beatriz should have been released much sooner, if
detained at all, under ICE’s prosecutorial discretion guidelines.
Despite her trauma, she received no counseling at BTC while detained three months. Now she is
receiving counseling from the Trauma Resolution Center (TRC).
No to Prosecutorial Discretion
In Honduras, Gabriela 69 lived in poverty and was often unable to feed her children. So she
followed her partner of more than 20 years to the United States in order to support her children.
Since her arrival from Honduras about 14 years ago, Gabriela has made significant contributions
to her community. A grandmother and devoted Christian, she attends church regularly, hosting a
large Bible study group at her home. She also works to help those in her community,
volunteering at her local food bank.70
For years she provided critical care to disabled family members and was a primary caregiver for
her niece, a lawful permanent resident of the United States who was severely disabled after
suffering a horrific domestic violence attack. She also is devoted to her husband, who resides
legally in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Gabriela had no criminal record. Even so, she was detained by CBP in February 2012 while a
passenger in a car that was pulled over at a South Miami Marina, where she and her husband had
gone to fish.
She had a tough time at BTC:
“I have never been arrested or convicted of any crime,” Gabriela said. “It is very
horrible for me to be in detention; I feel desperate and depressed, and I miss my
husband. I also know how worried my family is for me, and I wish I could
comfort them.” 71

pg. 18

Comment [s18]: “I have never been arrested or
convicted of any crime. It is very horrible for me to
be in detention; I feel desperate and depressed, and I
miss my husband.”
Gabriela, a BTC detainee

AI Justice submitted a release request to her BTC deportation office based on Gabriela’s strong
case for prosecutorial discretion. The letter also asked ICE to administratively close Gabriela’s
deportation case. 72 We did not receive a response.
Gabriela endured more than a month in detention before being released under a $1,500 bond.
When AI Justice submitted her case for prosecutorial discretion to the Office of Chief Counsel
(OCC), no fewer than 15 supporters provided statements testifying to her character and good
deeds. Nonetheless, OCC declined to close her case. Though her status remains in limbo, she is
precisely the kind of person who should benefit from immigration reform.
Separated from Children
Barbara 73 was devastated when immigration agents boarded a bus she was riding and arrested
her in April 2012. At the time she was a 28 year-old single mother caring for two U.S. citizen
children ages 3 and nearly seven months. In the United States for about eight years, she did not
fall within any of ICE’s enforcement priorities. Her only offence was for driving without a
license. Nonetheless, ICE detained Barbara and transferred her from Texas to BTC, thus, further
separating her from her young children. Her detention was hard on her children as well as on
Barbara.
“My daughters have been temporarily staying with extended family, but they are
suffering a lot without me. My sister tells me that [the baby] is crying all of the
time, and I know it is because she needs her mother to hold her and take care of
her,” Barbara said. “[The older girl] has also been struggling without me…. She
says that she misses me and that she loves me. I do my best to make her feel
better, but it breaks my heart to know my daughters are suffering.” 74
When AI Justice learned of Barbara’s case, we requested that ICE exercise prosecutorial
discretion and release her so she could care for her young daughters. Further, we notified her
deportation officer that she wanted to rescind her “voluntary” agreement to be deported, noting
that Barbara agreed to “voluntarily” return to her Latin American homeland before receiving a
legal orientation presentation and without fully understanding the options available to her. She
spent one month in detention before being released.
Assaulted at Gunpoint
Octavio 75 was the victim of a violent armed robbery and assault at gunpoint. He provided the
police with a detailed description of the suspects and their escape vehicle. Later he identified and
testified against his attackers at their trial, resulting in two convictions.
Octavio had no criminal convictions. He also was married to a U.S. citizen who suffered from
arthritis, anemia, and PTSD due to the robbery. After learning of his case, AI Justice submitted a
request for his release in March 2012 given that he was victim of a serious crime. The request
also noted that he was he is eligible to apply for a U visa, and as such, he qualified for a
favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion by granting his release from detention. Nearly a
month later, he finally was granted a $1,500 bond by ICE. Altogether, he needlessly spent three
months in detention following his arrest by ICE. 76

pg. 19

Comment [s19]: “My daughters have been
temporarily staying with extended family, but they
are suffering a lot without me. My sister tells me that
[the baby] is crying all of the time, and I know it is
because she needs her mother to hold her and take
care of her.”
Barbara, a BTC detainee

Separated from Son
Sandra, 77 a single mother with a 15-year-old U.S. citizen son, had lived in the United States for
more than 20 years. A release request had been pending for more than three weeks without
response when AI Justice learned of her case in March 2012. That request and another AI Justice
release request were turned down by BTC. While Sandra was detained, her son suffered by being
separated from his mother and primary caretaker.
Sandra was not subject to mandatory detention. She was applying for cancellation of removal
and for asylum because she feared she would be persecuted in her native Central American
country due to her sexual orientation. Meanwhile, she remained detained at BTC for more than
two months. Ultimately, Sandra was released and is pursuing her case in immigration court. 78
Victim of Violent Crime
Oscar, a 31-year-old Guatemalan, had been in the United States more than 10 years when he was
viciously attacked by two armed men in southwest, Florida. In May 2011, he was walking out of
a store when approached by two men. One struck him in the head with a metal pipe, which
caused Oscar to fall to the floor. The other man then held a knife to Oscar’s throat, threatened
him and searched his pockets. The men stole his money, gold ring, silver chain and cell phone.
During this violent robbery, Oscar sustained a one inch cut to the back of his head and was
treated by paramedics at the scene. 79
For months, Oscar lived in fear of being attacked by his assailants because he had been told they
lived in his neighborhood. He had nightmares and became tense, scared and suspicious of groups
of people. Nonetheless, Oscar fully cooperated with police during the resulting criminal
investigation. As a result, the County Police Department issued him a U Visa certification, which
offers nonimmigrant status to victims of certain crimes who assist law enforcement in the
investigation or prosecution of a crime. Oscar also was a prime candidate for prosecutorial
discretion as a victim of a serious crime.
Regardless of the Morton memo’s guidance, ICE detained Oscar at BTC in December 2011. In
February, AI Justice submitted a request for his release to his deportation officer. 80 The officer
“misplaced” his release request for almost three months. She then failed to submit his first set of
biometrics (orders for fingerprints and photographs). That added another 45 days of detention
until a new biometrics request was issued. Despite follow up calls and emails from AI Justice,
the officer never responded to the request. Months later, AI Justice met with BTC’s AFOD and
raised the issue of Oscar’s release. AI Justice was told to resubmit the releases and did so.
Several weeks later, after getting no response, AI Justice sent the release request to Marc Moore,
ICE’s field director for enforcement and detention operations in Florida. The response: Oscar
would not be released due to one “open container” of beer and two “driving under the influence”
offenses. AI Justice continues to work on getting his U Visa approved. After more than a year in
detention, Oscar remains detained at BTC as of March 13, 2013.
A Breadwinner for U.S. Citizens
A questionable traffic stop led to the deportation of Anibal Perez Hernandez. In November 2011,
Anibal’s boss was giving him a ride home when CBP stopped them on I-95 in Palm Beach

pg. 20

Comment [s20]: As reforming our detention
system and establishing sensible immigration
enforcement priorities have been two of your major
initiatives as Secretary of homeland Security, I ask
that you promptly conduct a review of BTC to
ensure that the facility is in line with the
Department’s policies.
Letter from U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren to Janet
Napolitano, Sept. 14, 2012

County. The two CBP officers offered no reason for the stop. When they questioned Anibal, he
admitted that he had no papers. The CBP officers then detained him and took him to BTC were
he was detained.
Anibal had lived in the United States for seven years, had no criminal history and supported five
children, four of them U.S. citizens. He posed no danger or national security risk, and could have
been a candidate for prosecutorial discretion. Instead he ended up detained at BTC.
While he was at BTC, his partner struggled to provide for their five children while suffering
complications from the birth of their 3-month-old twins. The separation devastated the family.
The Palm Beach County for Immigrant Rights publicized a petition drive requesting ICE
Director Morton to grant bond and cancel Anibal’s deportation.
He was released after being detained for three months. Ultimately, Anibal accepted voluntary
departure, which allows an undocumented immigrant to leave the United States without a
deportation order and does not bar him from legally entering the country in the future.81
Forced Recruitment Target
Fernando 82 had never been arrested and took pride in his clean criminal record. A Honduran, he
had been in the United States since 1997, 15 years. He knew many Hondurans who had been
targeted by criminal gangs and was afraid that if he, too, were deported, he could be targeted for
forced recruitment by local gangs and would resist at the risk of being injured or killed. Facing
months of continued detention while representing himself, he stopped fighting his case and took
voluntary departure in September 2012.
Cosmetology Fans
Raquel 83, a 59-year-old from Latin America had lived in the United States for some 15 years.
While here, she worked hard and cared for her husband when he suffered a stroke. In September
2011, she went to a cosmetology exhibition at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center and was
arrested by Border Patrol. Raquel said that Border Patrol stood by the front entrance and asked
her for her identification. When she could not provide proof that she was in the country legally,
they arrested her.
Though Raquel had never been arrested or convicted of any crime, she was detained at BTC and
placed into deportation proceedings. She was one of several women AI Justice interviewed who
had been arrested by CBP that day. All of the women we spoke with said that CBP stood at the
Convention Center’s entryway asking for their IDs and arrested anyone whose documents didn’t
pass CPB muster. To the best of our knowledge, none of the women arrested had histories of
prior criminal convictions, or even criminal arrests, and were not taken into custody on a claim
that they were “dangerous criminal aliens.” They are examples of individuals who ICE should
not detain, even if CBP brings them to BTC.
The Greyhound Trap
Sonia 84 a middle-aged woman, was asked for her immigration papers by CBP while on a
Greyhound bus in West Palm Beach. Detained at BTC for about three months, she had no
criminal record and cried throughout her interview with AI Justice. She said she was emotional
because she didn’t understand why she was being detained like a criminal when she never hurt

pg. 21

Comment [s21]: Use the beauty salon photo.
Cutline: BTC beauty salon for women detainees

anyone. All she had ever done in the United States was to try to support herself and her family.
Ultimately, she signed papers agreeing to take Voluntary Departure. 85

pg. 22

Asylum Seekers at Risk
AI Justice has been extremely concerned that detainees fleeing persecution in their home
countries have been prevented from applying for asylum in the U.S. by ICE officers. Individuals
apprehended while entering the United States and those who reenter after being deported may
immediately be deported by ICE without judicial process. However, if an individual expresses a
fear of returning to his or her country, DHS has a legal obligation to refer the case to the USCIS
asylum office for what is known as a credible or reasonable fear interview. 86
Only individuals who are found to have a credible or reasonable fear may apply for asylum or
withholding of removal. Those who are not found to have a credible or reasonable fear may be
subject to immediate deportation. Thus, these interviews are critical to protecting asylum seekers
who may face injury or death if returned to their countries.
Yet in many cases cited below, ICE officers at BTC failed to notify the asylum office to provide
these crucial interviews to potential asylum seekers. As a result, detainees who expressed a fear
of persecution to ICE officers at BTC have been deported without a chance to be interviewed.
This issue also has surfaced in other areas of the United States, such as in Texas, New York and
Pennsylvania. 87
Further, asylum seekers found by USCIS to have a credible fear of persecution or torture
generally should be released from detention according to a January 2010 ICE memo that
describes the policy: An asylum seeker who has established credible fear should be paroled as
long as the individual sufficiently establishes his identity, does not pose a flight risk or danger to
the community, and has no other factors that would weigh against his release. 88
There is no rational basis to detain asylum seekers who are eligible for parole while their cases
are adjudicated. Detaining such vulnerable individuals – many of them survivors of torture,
isolation and other abuse – causes needless psychological harm and compromises their ability to
present their cases. As long as they are detained, their access to legal representation and other
services are very limited. Unfortunately, AI justice documented two cases in which asylum
seekers remained detained at BTC months after USCIS found they had a credible fear of return
to their home country.
Victims of domestic violence who establish credible or reasonable fear may be eligible for
asylum or withholding of removal. Asylum seekers may additionally be eligible for immigration
relief under special visas for victims of crimes, among them U Visas and T Visas. 89
In April and May of 2012, AI Justice received multiple reports of victims of domestic violence
who had been deported by BTC officers without being offered credible or reasonable fear
interviews, despite clear requirements to do so. AI Justice has documented cases of BTC
detainees with credible fear claims deported in contravention of the law. AI Justice also has
received reports of DHS officers coercing immigrants into signing documents stating that they
don’t have a fear of returning to their home countries.

pg. 23

Comment [s22]: Perhaps we can use a frame
from the AI Justice video that shows a victim of
domestic violence who is not identified, doesn’t
show her name or face ...

We also documented two cases of asylum seekers who established credible fear of returning to
their homeland but were long denied release. One Haitian man was detained more than four
months and is featured in the next section. The other asylum seeker was detained nearly six
months. The following accounts include other egregious examples.
Duped by CBP
Mercedes 90 fled her Central American homeland at age 25 after suffering four years of domestic
violence at the hands of her partner.91 Terrified of him, she said:
“I knew that he would never stop hurting me and never let me be if I left him. I ran away to
the United States because I wanted to get as far away as possible from Jose 92 so that he
could not hurt me anymore.” 93
Shortly after entering the country near McAllen, Texas, Mercedes was detained in a large
holding cell that CBP officers call a “hielera” or icebox in English. These cells appear designed
to abuse their occupants. 94 Mercedes recounted her ordeal:
The officers put me in a large cell with many other women. Being in the cell was
horrible; it was freezing, and I was so cold. There were no beds, so I had to sleep
on the floor. The only food they gave us were small sandwiches, I was really
hungry.” 95
About three days later, CBP officers told her that she needed to sign some documents, which
were written in English. Mercedes, who only understands Spanish, asked the officer what the
documents said. He assured her that they had nothing to do with deportation. Mercedes said, “I
was tired, cold and scared, so I signed the papers.” Afterward, the officer told her that the
documents said she could not return to the United States for five years. 96
Immediately Mercedes informed the officer that she was scared to return to her homeland. The
officer said he could not help her but that she should talk to ICE once she was transferred. In late
March 2012, Mercedes was transferred to BTC and spoke to a deportation officer as soon as she
could, and that officer brought someone to translate. She recounted her conversation to AI
Justice:
“I told the immigration officer I was scared to go back to [my country] because I
had been abused by Jose there and that I was scared that Jose would hurt me. The
officer told me that he didn’t have my documents with him but he would look into
my case.” 97
Subsequently, Mercedes learned that a deportation flight to her home country was scheduled in
two days. She was scared but hoped to get an interview so she could apply for asylum. Meanwhile,
AI Justice learned that she was scheduled to be deported. We alerted the BTC AFOD that
Mercedes needed a credible fear interview and was at risk of being deported imminently. He
assured us that he would take care of the problem. 98

pg. 24

Comment [s23]: “I was tired, cold and scared, so
I signed the papers.”
Mercedes, living in fear after deported from BTC

BTC officers deported Mercedes three days later without allowing her to speak to an asylum
officer regarding her fear. She is now hiding and living in fear in her native country.
“I am very scared that Jose will find me, and do not want to leave the house,” she
told AI Justice. “I know that he is very angry with me and I am terrified that he
will find me and hurt me again.” 99
Since then, AI Justice has seen hundreds of detainees at BTC who have experienced brutal
treatment in CBP “hieleras.” Many of them have been asylum seekers and victims of domestic
violence. These holding cells have no beds, no chairs, and a single sink and toilet sitting in plain
view. Detainees have no access to a bath or shower. They are not given blankets, soap or a change
of clothes. They huddle on the floor for warmth and are fed sparsely. AI Justice has filed Federal
Tort Claims actions seeking damages on behalf of four immigrants who were subjected to such
inhumane and unlawful treatment by CBP. 100
Survived Rape, Gunshots
BTC officers also intended to deport Julia 101-- even after she told her BTC deportation officer
that she was terrified of returning to her South American homeland and wanted to seek asylum.
Julia, 49, had endured decades of severe domestic violence and sexual assault by her partner. He
had repeatedly raped her, shot her, threatened to kill her, and continued to seek her in her native
land.
Scars on Julia’s arms and legs attested to her abuser’s brutality. She recounted one incident
during which he slammed her head against the wall repeatedly until she passed out. Her abuser
attacked her when she was with her children. At one point she tried to escape, but he dragged her
out of the bus she had boarded.
Julia previously had been deported and was therefore subject to immediate deportation without a
right to see a judge upon re-entry. She was transferred to BTC. There, on two separate occasions,
she told her deportation officer that she wanted to apply for asylum, adding that she was scared
to be returned to her abuser’s country. Nonetheless, BTC attempted to deport Julia in May 2012.
At the airport, Julia begged the officers not to deport her because she believed she would be
killed if deported and wanted to apply for asylum. She was so emphatic that the officers
eventually relented and returned her to BTC. Had it not been for her determination, she could
have been deported to a place where her abuser could track her down, beat and even kill her.
Notice Ignored
During the same time period, Tania 102 was deported despite expressing her fear of return to her
deportation officer. She had fled her Central American homeland after decades of domestic
violence at the hands of the father of her children, who frequently beat her and threatened to kill
her if she left him.
Border Patrol agents arrested Tania soon after she crossed the border into Texas and transferred
her to BTC. Tania told her BTC deportation officer that she feared going back to her native

pg. 25

Comment [s24]: Text box:
At the airport, Julia begged the officers not to deport
her because she believed she would be killed if
deported and wanted to apply for asylum.

country because she suffered terrible domestic violence there. She was afraid her abuser would
find her and hurt her again.
Nonetheless, Tania’s consulate told her that she was scheduled for deportation. After Tania told
AI Justice about her fear of return and belief that she would soon be deported, AI Justice
included Tania’s name on a list of women who requested credible or reasonable fear interviews
at BTC. Though AI Justice warned BTC ICE that Tania was scheduled for deportation the
following Monday and requested a reasonable fear interview, BTC deported her as scheduled.
Fleeing Persecution
Though Esteban 103 fled his native country for fear of his life, BTC detained him for more than
five months. Placed at BTC in November 2011, this young man remained detained even after
two U.S. citizens vouched for him and an Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum officer
determined that Esteban had a credible fear of persecution. AI Justice’s requests to release him -via email, voice mail and, finally a formal request to BTC’s Supervisory Detention and
Deportation Officer -- remained unanswered for months, needlessly prolonging his detention.104
Shortly after being detained at BTC, an immigration officer laughed at Esteban’s request to
apply for asylum and seek help from the U.S. government. This officer pointed to her hand and
rubbed her skin, a common gesture indicating skin color. At the same time, she told Esteban,
who is black, “No, no help for you.” Given her response, Esteban feared he would be deported
and face persecution. So he gave ICE a fake name in the hope that his persecutors would remain
unaware of his whereabouts if sent back to Colombia.
Esteban left his homeland at age 20 after four family members were murdered by a violent
guerrilla group. As he recounted:
“There are people from my hometown all over [the country] who know me and
will tell the guerillas where I am. The guerillas are everywhere and it is
impossible to hide from them…. I am afraid that, if I am forced to return to [my
homeland], the guerillas will kill me.” 105
Corroborating his claims were the numerous documents that Esteban brought with him. Among
these were news articles describing the murders of his brothers as well as a letter from their
hometown mayor documenting the brothers’ deaths and threats to Esteban’s life. He had standing
offers of housing from two U.S. citizens upon release from detention and for the duration of his
immigration case. 106 Further, Esteban clearly qualified for prosecutorial discretion under ICE
guidelines.
Nonetheless, ICE kept a traumatized asylum seeker locked up at BTC for nearly six months,
subjecting him to racist treatment and delaying him from preparing for his asylum case in
immigration court. Only after AI Justice appealed to senior DHS officials was Esteban released
from BTC.

pg. 26

Comment [s25]: Text Box:
ICE kept a traumatized asylum seeker locked up at
BTC for nearly six months, subjecting him to racist
treatment and delaying him from preparing for his
asylum case in immigration court

Sympathetic Dreamers
Among the most sympathetic undocumented immigrants are youth who came to the United
States as children, have been educated here and consider themselves Americans but for the
official paper. They are often called DREAMers in a nod to the pending DREAM Act in
Congress, which would provide them with a path to legal status. Not surprisingly, the guidance
for prosecutorial discretion issued by ICE in June 2011 specifically directs individuals “who
have graduated from a U.S. high school” or went to college to pursue a degree to be given
“particular consideration” for prosecutorial discretion.107
On June 15, 2012, President Obama announced a new discretionary program called Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which would allow as many as 1.76 million
undocumented youth to legally live and work in this country for at least two years. 108
Unfortunately, the following are examples of DREAMers needlessly detained and/or deported.
BOX
A Dreamer with relief
In May 2012, Sara 109 was detained by CBP upon arrival at the Fort Lauderdale airport. Sara, age
24, had come to visit her U.S. citizen stepmother. Their relationship was the basis for Sara’s
approved I-130 family petition. While detained, Sara also became eligible for deferred action
under DACA, which would have allowed her to legally live and work in this country for at least
two years. Further, she was a victim of domestic violence, which potentially could make her
eligible for a U visa and a path to nonimmigrant status. Nonetheless, CBP and ICE both failed to
exercise their discretion in her favor.
A record of sworn statement confirms that CBP was aware of all the facts that would argue for
prosecutorial discretion. In fact, Sara showed copies of her high school diploma and her I-130
family petition to a CBP officer. Yet, rather than exercise discretion, CBP transported her to
BTC. There, rather than exercising discretion and releasing her, ICE detained Sara instead of
immediately releasing her. Consequently, Sara ended up in ICE detention at BTC for nearly two
months. Only after AI Justice intervened on her behalf did ICE release her. 110
Innocent Bystander
Four months after ICE announced its push for prosecutorial discretion in 2011, Shamir Ali, a
young man who has lived most of his life in the United States, was arrested when the FBI raided
a Miami car dealership that reportedly had not paid taxes in years. Shamir, now 26, had no
knowledge or involvement in any crime and fully cooperated with federal authorities. He simply
worked there. In fact, he had no criminal history. Yet the FBI turned him over to ICE after he
could not prove he had legal status, and Shamir was detained at BTC in October 2011.
When Shamir was 7 years old, his mother fled persecution in Bangladesh and brought him to the
United States. Though she applied for asylum, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
ultimately denied her case. His father, a U.S. citizen, abandoned him years ago and has not been
in contact since. After nearly 20 years here, Shamir has few ties to his native Bangladesh and
cannot read or write the language. Deporting him to a land he barely recalls would be a cruel
hardship.

pg. 27

Comment [s26]: DREAMers
“The arrest of an undocumented 18-year-old girl for
being in the United States illegally isn’t a question of
legality. It’s a question of priority. Namely, is this
the best use of Border Patrol resources and time?”
Border Patrol resources best focused on would-be
terrorists, drug and human traffickers,” South
Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial. March 30, 2010.

Shamir grew up attending school and dreaming of a career as a computer engineer. After
graduating from high school, he attended Palm Beach State College, but was forced to suspend
his dream because he couldn’t afford to pay out-of-state tuition fees.
Though Shamir was a prime candidate for prosecutorial discretion, ICE denied his first requests
for release and for a grant of deferred action, which offers temporary relief from deportation. In
its denial letter, ICE noted that there was no “demonstrable evidence that his deportation would
visit hardship on his family.” ICE failed to mention that Shamir had no close relatives here
because ICE had deported his mother years earlier, separating the family. 111
Fortunately, his sympathetic story and undeserved detention inspired media attention. 112 After
learning about Shamir’s case, AI Justice submitted a legal brief asking ICE to reconsider its
decision denying relief. He was released from detention within 24 hours.
“My time in jail was horrible. I had no idea what would happen to me, especially
after their initial denial a few days after I was detained. Not knowing if you will
be able to stay in the only country you know and love was unbearable. AI Justice
saved my life. I really can’t express how thankful I am.” 113
Now Shamir has applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the DHS program
announced on June 15, 2012. When approved, Shamir will be able to legally live and work in
this country for at least two years. The program, however, does not offer permanent legal status.
‘Stop Expelling Talent’
Azucena 114 dreamed of joining the U.S. Navy. She was only 9 years old when brought from
Mexico to Georgia. There she learned English and joined the Navy Junior Reserve Officers'
Training Corps (JROTC) to serve her country. Azucena excelled in marksmanship, dedicated her
time to helping underprivileged children and mentored other JROTC students. The top rifle
shooter in her unit, she won awards for her performance.
“I loved being in the JROTC and learned leadership, discipline and how to be a
better person,” Azucena said. “I knew that in the United States I had been given
opportunities. I want to give back to the United States and defend the country that
has given me so much.’’ 115
Years into the program, Azucena was devastated to learn that her lack of legal status barred her
from joining the U.S. military. After she graduated high school, she was invited to come live and
study with an aunt who has a cosmetology school in Miami. While traveling on a Greyhound bus
in late 2010, Azucena was arrested by Border Patrol in Broward County just north of Miami.
Though never arrested or convicted of a crime, Azucena was detained by CBP and brought to
BTC. There she was placed into deportation proceedings, denied bond and detained for two
months. She spent Christmas 2010 in a prison instead of with her family.
During the State of the Union Address in January 2011, President Obama discussed how such
youth need to be considered and protected in immigration reform efforts. He said:
“I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal
immigration. I am prepared to work with republicans and Democrats…let’s agree

pg. 28

Comment [s27]: Photo: or frame grab from AIJ
video – of Shamir Ali

to make the effort. And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people
who can staff our research labs, start new businesses, and further enrich this
nation.” 116
Despite President Obama’s clear directive to stop deporting Dreamers, ICE did not release
Azucena until a month later. Her relief came only after an AI Justice attorney found her at BTC
and helped her obtain deferred action, discretionary relief that allowed her to legally remain and
work here for two years. It does not allow her to join the military, however.
Handcuffed, Patted Down
Leslie Cocche, an exceptional college student committed to community service, was approached
and arrested by CBP in March 2010 as she awaited the commuter train at the Fort Lauderdale’s
Tri-Rail station. An 18-year-old from Peru, Leslie was on her way to college when stopped by a
CBP officer. She believes she was racially profiled, as others waiting for the train were not asked
for their papers. A CBP armed agent intimidated her by aggressively and persistently questioning
her about her legal status.
While she was being questioned, a Tri-Rail officer told CBP officers that he saw Leslie at the
station all the time and she had never posed a problem. Once she provided the agent her student
ID, Leslie was handcuffed, patted down and placed in deportation proceedings. ICE detained her
at BTC, despite the Obama administration’s stated priorities to focus on dangerous criminals, not
“low priority” immigrants with no criminal record and a long history of community service.
AI Justice soon learned of her case. We won her release as well as deferred action status, which
offered temporary relief from deportation.117 Altogether she spent 11 days detained at BTC.
As of June 2012, Leslie had lived in the U.S. for 10 years, nearly half of her life. She is now
married to a U.S. citizen, continues studying at Miami Dade College and is close to getting an
Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice. She also has applied for Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals. Her dream is to become a forensic biologist in order to help bring unlawful perpetrators
to justice.
Cruel and Unnecessary
Though the DREAM Act has been pending in Congress for more than 11 years, many
DREAMers have been detained and deported during that time. Emy Sarjina’s inhumane
detention at BTC is notable for its length and cruelty. After 20 months at BTC, Emy gave up.
She withdrew her federal court appeal and consented to deportation. After growing up and being
educated in the United States, she was returned to Bangladesh at age 20.
Her parents were fleeing persecution when they brought Emy here when she was age 4 along
with her two brothers. Though they lost the asylum case, the parents thought that having a
permanent labor certificate gave them legal status. They bought a home and small business in
Orlando, Florida. The children all went to Timber Creek High School. The entire family worked
at the business and paid taxes.
Emy was an honors student and planning to apply to colleges. She was hoping to study for a
career in medicine. All that ended in June 2007 when ICE agents raided the home at 5 a.m and

pg. 29

Comment [s28]: use graduation photo of her.

Comment [s29]: “Cocche's detention, along
with many other recent arrests of undocumented
immigrants in South Florida and across the country,
have raised questions about whether the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security is misleading the
public about enforcement.”
Noncriminal, undocumented aliens aren't being
left alone, activists complain. The Miami Herald,
June 20, 2010

her parents were deported. Many friends and advocates campaigned for her release and relief
from deportation. Nonetheless, Emy grew increasingly despondent in detention.
“I am 19 years old, and I feel like my life is flying by inside here,” she said after
being detained seven months. “I came here when I was four years old. It wasn't
my choice to come, but I made friends along the way. Now I am being punished
for something I have no control over.” 118
The National Immigration Forum calculated that her 20 months in detention cost taxpayers
$85,000. The cost of her loss and that of other DREAM Act students is more than the United
States can afford. 119

pg. 30

Haitians Detained Indefinitely, Again
BTC has a history of mistreating Haitians in detention, beginning with its first women detainees
in 2002.120 Regrettably, the practice continues today.
Soon after Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake in January 2010, AI Justice discovered about 30
traumatized Haitian survivors locked up at BTC. Most had been flown here on U.S. military
planes, none had criminal histories, and some had U.S. citizen relatives eager to house them.
Deportations to Haiti had been suspended. Nonetheless, these Haitians were imprisoned on
arrival. BTC offered little to no mental healthcare, though a Creole psychotherapist contacted by
AI Justice offered to treat them at no cost.
At the time, AI Justice was overwhelmed by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) work for
Haitians due to the earthquake. Nonetheless, we also decided to help earthquake survivors
petition BTC for their release.
AI Justice staff coordinated translators; supervised Yale Law School interns and other interns
who took statements; and prepared detailed release requests for each Haitian detainee. We
contacted ICE officials at the local level, then at higher levels. For weeks we advocated for the
Haitians’ releases, to no avail. Finally, AI Justice contacted The New York Times, which
published the story on its front page on April 1. That day, ICE released all the BTC Haitians as
well as other similarly situated Haitian detainees nationwide. Altogether some 60 detainees were
freed, and ICE changed its national policy. 121
History Forgotten
A year later, in announcing the extension of Haitian TPS due to the earthquake, DHS Secretary
Napolitano emphasized that:
“Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the
United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to
Haiti is part of this administration’s continuing efforts to support Haiti’s
recovery.” 122
Despite the sentiment at the top level of DHS, the ICE memos encouraging prosecutorial
discretion for detainees with no significant criminal history, and BTC’s post earthquake
experience, Haitians continue to face indefinite detention at BTC.
In August 2012, an AI Justice attorney met with 35 Haitian detainees at BTC. Many were
survivors of two boats that had foundered. Among them were three Haitians who had passed
credible fear interviews. Yet an ICE officer said that having passed the interview disqualified
them for release – though the opposite is true. 123 Fortunately, AI Justice has since not
encountered this mistaken interpretation of policy. In fact, we have seen Haitians released on a
regular basis after passing credible fear or reasonable fear interviews.
Still, release decisions appeared arbitrary, and some Haitian asylum seekers were told they
would have to pursue their asylum cases in court at BTC – which meant going before Judge

pg. 31

Ford, who has one of the highest asylum denial rates in the nation. 124 Consequently, some of the
Haitians who passed credible fear and wanted to go forward with their cases gave up because so
little pro bono legal help is available at BTC. 125
BOX
Most of the Haitians remained detained. Thus, on October 8, 2012, 24 Haitian detainees signed a
petition asking to be released from BTC. The petition noted that, “It has been three months since
we have lived a miserable life in that Center.” The Haitians added:
“We have been detained for no reason. Due to the natural disaster that happened
in Haiti, Haitians were not supposed to be deported and we all have relatives in
the USA. So we would like to know, why we have still been detained.…

Comment [s30]:
“It has been three months since we have … lived a
miserable life in that Center. Since June 2012 we
have been detained by the American Authorities…
and we all have relatives in the USA… Why have we
still been detained and we do not have any criminal
or drugs case even robbery.”
Haitian Petition, October 2012

“Why have we been detained without knowing the reason? Because in that center
(BTC) the condition is not good.”126
To the best of AI Justice’s knowledge, these Haitians had no criminal history and posed no threat
to our national security or public safety. We supported the Haitian petitioners by sending a letter
to ICE Director Morton in October 2012. The letter called for the immediate review of their
cases and for ICE to temporarily suspend their deportations and to grant their release. 127
In late November, we received a response from Gary Mead, ICE’s Executive Associate Director,
Enforcement and Removal Operations. His letter noted that the Haitians at BTC were in “the
least restrictive security designation.” Further, though they did not “have violent criminal
convictions,” they could be detained for other reasons. The letter also noted that U.S.
deportations of Haitians “who pose a threat to public safety or national security” had resumed in
2011. 128
On the same day we received the Mead letter, at a meeting with Mr. Moore, ICE’s Florida Field
Director, we were told that many of the Haitians now had been released with orders of
supervision.
In late January, an AI Justice attorney discovered that at least eight Haitian women were detained
at BTC. One woman had been detained at BTC for about two months, even though she had a
sister and a brother-in-law who were U.S. citizens in Miami. 129
The following account describes one Haitian found to have credible fear of persecution or torture
by USCIS.
Passed Credible Fear
Pierre, 130 came to the United States from Haiti in June 2012. A passenger of a boat that landed
ashore in Puerto Rico, he soon was placed in detention. Pierre, 42, was fleeing physical abuse
and persecution by Haitian police officers who assaulted him in June 2011. In November 2010,
he also had been attacked and injured by three police officers in the front yard of his house.
Pierre had not reported these attacks to the Haitian police department because he feared further
harm and believed that the police would protect one another. If returned to Haiti, he feared that
Haitian police would continue to target him as in the past.

pg. 32

Comment [s31]: Text box
BTC failed to release Pierre in contravention of its
stated policy on parole for asylum seekers who pass
credible fear interviews

While at BTC, Pierre passed his credible fear interview. He had a U.S. citizen sibling and two
legal permanent resident siblings currently living in the United States. All of them were willing
to provide him a home and financial support while he dealt with his immigration matters. Despite
requests for Pierre’s release by AI Justice, BTC failed to release him in contravention of its
stated policy on parole for asylum seekers who pass credible fear interviews. 131
Thus, Pierre’s asylum case proceeded at the BTC court, where the only judge has one of the
highest asylum denial rates in the country. 132 Proving an asylum case is difficult in the best
circumstances. For an immigrant in detention it is almost impossible to prove such a case,
particularly if he does not have an attorney or the documents, testimony and other evidence that
substantiates a well-founded fear of persecution.
After four months in detention, Pierre was ordered deported by the court in October 2012.

pg. 33

Medical Mistreatment
Many immigrants are detained for months or even years, though immigration detention facilities
are not designed for long-term prisoners. Whether county jails or large ICE owned or contracted
private prisons, few detention sites have the programs, services or medical care offered in federal
prisons and other facilities that keep prisoners for more than six months. BTC is no exception.
In 2010, ICE agreed to provide detainees with constitutionally acceptable healthcare as part of an
agreement to settle an ACLU lawsuit. The suit complained that deficient care at the San Diego
Correctional Facility (SDCF) caused unnecessary suffering and death. 133 Nonetheless, the lack of
competent medical care remains one of detainees’ chief complaints. 134
BTC has had its share of shameful medical practices. In December 2003, a client who had classic
symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy was simply given Tylenol at BTC. Even after she began to
bleed profusely, her complaints were ignored. When she was finally rushed to the emergency
room she learned about the loss of her unborn child and the removal of her fallopian tube.
Another BTC detainee who was raped by multiple men in her home country was told she
couldn’t consider an abortion. 135
Another case involved two asylum seekers from Brazil who were detained for months at BTC.
Jaime Miranda, whose father was murdered, and Daniel Padilha, who is gay, both had arrived on
a boat that ran aground in South Florida on October 2008. A private doctor hired by their
families diagnosed both of them with PTSD. Their symptoms included insomnia, depression,
anxiety and psychotic episodes.
On March 5, 2009, these two men sued ICE in federal court for failing to treat them for PTSD at
BTC. That lawsuit charged that, despite repeated requests, the men had not been given
medication or mental-health treatment for their disorder at BTC. ICE also rejected their requests
to be released so they could get proper treatment themselves. According to their lawyer, a BTC
officer said that the men would have to be moved to another detention facility to be treated. The
charges raised significant concerns because many asylum seekers are detained at BTC. 136
AI Justice continues to see horrific cases of medical mistreatment at BTC. The following are
some examples.
A Traumatized Victim
Rosa, 137 who had a professional job, was subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of her domestic
partner. He attacked her with a knife, stabbing her multiple times and threatening to kill her at
any cost. Her injuries were so severe that she required emergency medical care. As a result of the
abuse she suffered, Rosa sought the protection of local police in her home country as well as a
restraining order from the judicial system. Nonetheless, her abuser continued to threaten her life.
Fearing he would make good on his threats, Rosa fled to the United States in a desperate attempt
to protect herself.
In July 2012, Rosa was detained at BTC, where she was given no trauma therapy or counseling.
A month later, it became apparent that her mental state had deteriorated rapidly. She went to

pg. 34

Comment [s32]: Text box:
In 2009, two men sued ICE in federal court for
failing to treat them for PTSD. That lawsuit charged
that, despite repeated requests, the men had not been
given medication or mental-health treatment for their
disorder at BTC.

BTC’s medical center complaining of pain and that she was nervous. Later that night she became
despondent and started to cry uncontrollably. The next day she was sent to a mental health
facility where she remained for 10 days.
When returned to BTC, Rosa was given a cocktail of medications. Yet her mental health
continued to deteriorate. Given the severe domestic violence she had suffered, AI Justice
believed that her continued and lengthening detention was contributing to her deteriorating state
of mind and that the antipsychotic drugs prescribed were doing more harm than good.
In September 2012, we requested ICE to release Rosa from BTC. AI Justice offered to refer her
for counseling and mental health services at a well established trauma center. Moreover, we
provided BTC with a statement from her uncle in Miami, a beneficiary of TPS who would care
for her while she pursued her immigration case.
According to ICE’s own policy, individuals who suffer from serious mental illness, like Rosa,
should not remain in detention. A 2011 memo by ICE Director John Morton clearly states:
“Absent extraordinary circumstances or the requirements of mandatory detention,
field office directors should not expend detention resources on aliens who are
known to be suffering from serious physical or mental illness ….” 138
Rosa also was clearly eligible for prosecutorial discretion under a Morton memo regarding
“Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs.” Because Rosa is a victim
of domestic violence, “ICE officers, special agents, and attorneys are reminded to exercise all
appropriate discretion.” Since Rosa has neither a serious criminal record nor poses a national
security threat, “exercising favorable discretion, such as release from detention … will be
appropriate.” 139
Still, BTC did not release Rosa. Less than a month after returning from the mental-health facility,
BTC sent her back for further treatment. This time, she remained there nearly three weeks.
The medical records, once provided, showed that Rosa continued to suffer extreme psychological
trauma due to the domestic violence she suffered in her home country. Her detention triggered a
depression and PTSD and caused her mental health to deteriorate rapidly. She also had auditory
hallucinations of the abuser threatening to kill her.
Why spend taxpayer dollars on expensive in-patient mental health treatment and cocktails of
prescription drugs when the detention itself is exacerbating the illness? Why did BTC detain a
traumatized woman who is not an enforcement priority or threat to anyone and has a strong case
for immigration relief as a victim of brutal domestic violence?
AI Justice sent another request for Rosa’s release. Yet she was released only after AI Justice met
with Field Office Director Moore and sent an email about her case to temporary AFOD Paul
Candemeres. Altogether Rosa suffered terribly while in detention nearly seven months.

pg. 35

Comment [s33]: Text box
Why spend taxpayer dollars on expensive in-patient
mental health treatment and cocktails of prescription
drugs when the detention itself is exacerbating the
illness?

Now living with family, Rosa is feeling better. AI Justice referred her to the TRC for mental
health services. Though she continues to take medication, she is clearly improving. Meanwhile,
the result of her reasonable fear interview is pending. If she passes the interview, AI Justice will
represent Rosa in seeking withholding of removal.
Failure to Provide Treatment Angel Yat Raymundo, a 38-year-old Guatemalan, was detained
at BTC in May 11, 2012. Several weeks after arriving there, he noticed a pain in his right pelvic
area. Initially he thought he may have pulled a muscle. The pain, however, intensified. After 10
days of intense pain, he submitted a request to see a doctor. Two days later he was taken to
BTC’s medical center, where a doctor diagnosed a hernia and referred him to a medical specialist
outside of BTC.
The next day, on July 13, 2012, Angel was taken to South Florida Surgical Specialists. He was
examined by a specialist doctor. An examination confirmed that Angel had a large hernia. Angel
described the “sharp pain.” The doctor recommended surgery, and Angel consented after being
informed of the risks of the procedure as well as the risks of complications without surgery. 140
The doctor also told Angel that ICE would find a facility for the surgery.
More than three weeks later, Angel began to feel that his condition was deteriorating.
Meanwhile, he had heard nothing from ICE about the hernia surgery. On August 14, the doctor
at BTC broke the dismal news: ICE would not pay for the surgery. So he would have to continue
to live with the hernia and suffer the pain. Angel was shocked.
Sure enough, early in the morning on September 9, 2012, Angel doubled over in intense pain. He
was examined by two nurses at BTC, signed a release and a BTC guard took him to North
Broward Hospital. There, a doctor examined him and asked if he wanted pain medication. Angel
said yes, and the doctor then left for a short time. When the doctor returned, he briefly talked to
the BTC guard and left again. The guard then told Angel they needed to immediately return him
to BTC, without Angel getting pain medication or any other treatment.
Six months after being detained at BTC and more than a month after being rushed to the hospital,
Angel still suffered pain throughout the day. Every time he ate, the pain was searing. This pain
was caused by a hernia that developed at BTC, was deteriorating and could lead to lifethreatening complications – all the while ICE denied to pay for a common surgical procedure.
Attorneys from AI Justice and Kurzban Kurzban Weinger Tetzeli and Pratt filed a stay of
removal on Angel’s behalf and negotiated his release with ICE. Finally, ICE released Angel in
November 2012 and placed his removal on hold for a year. 141 He then could seek the medical
care he needed.
A Fall in BTC’s Kitchen
Martin Hernandez, age 39, was washing dishes in the BTC kitchen when he slipped on a wet
floor in May 2012. As he fell head over heels, he felt something snap in his lower back. When he
stood up, he found it painful to walk. He also noticed a strong pain in his neck and in his right
wrist and was given over-the-counter pain medication. Later that day, he was given an ice bag
and therapeutic patches commonly used for back and muscle aches by BTC’s medical center.

pg. 36

Comment [s34]: Use Sun Sentinel photo of
Angel Yat Raymundo

That night in bed, Martin experienced sharp pain in his chest. Taken to the clinic again, he was
given an EKG exam. Afterward a doctor pronounced everything okay. Martin subsequently felt
the chest pains, but realized that the pain would subside when he changed his sleeping position.
The BTC medical center continued to give him pain medication, and Martin noted that his pain
had somewhat diminished. Still, weeks later his back, neck and wrist injuries continued to cause
him significant pain. The medication given to him to treat only the symptoms -- not the source -did little to relieve the pain.
Martin also suffers from diverticulitis, an infection of the muscular wall of the colon that does
not allow his body to produce potassium. 142 The doctor who had diagnosed him years before had
told him to avoid certain foods and to eat fruits high in potassium in order to lessen the need for
surgery due to the diverticulitis. At one point, Martin was taken for a medical exam outside of
BTC due to his stomach pains. The outside doctor gave him medication that helped reduce his
abdomen pain but did not eliminate it.
At BTC, Martin asked for a more appropriate diet for his condition. But his supervisors in the
kitchen said they didn’t have the authority to make dietary changes in meals. Thus, his inability
to control his diet aggravated his diverticulitis to the point that he could need surgery. Soon
afterward, Martin discovered blood in his stools.
The medical staff confirmed that Martin might need surgery and that he needed an immediate
medical exam. However, because he wanted to take a short period of time to inform his family of
his situation, the medical staff pressured him to sign a form waiving his right to have a medical
exam or any subsequent necessary treatment.
AI Justice requested BTC to exercise prosecutorial discretion and release Martin. In an email to
AI Justice’s attorney regarding Martin, BTC’s AFOD erroneously wrote, “[D]ocumentary
evidence … supports he actually ‘refused’ treatment for unknown reasons." 143 Martin accepted
voluntary departure by July 5, 2012.
A Basketball Injury
In another case reported by the Sun Sentinel in January, BTC detainee Luis de la Cruz said he
had developed serious urological problems four months earlier after sustaining a hit from a
basketball. Now he needs adult diapers. He had been given pain medicine and antibiotics and
taken to see a specialist. His lawyer said he needed more tests but has been told he'll only be
given them if he pays.
A 39 year-old native of the Dominican Republic, Luis was arrested for driving a motorcycle with
an expired license and had been locked up at BTC for more than eight months.144
No Threat to Communities
Manuel 145 was driving to the market early in the morning in October 2010 when he was stopped
by a police officer in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. The officer alleged that Manuel had not stopped
at a stop sign, which Manuel denied. The officer then asked for the man's papers. When he could
not produce any valid ID, the officer arrested and jailed him. Manuel only had traffic infractions

pg. 37

Comment [s35]: Text box
Weeks later, Marin’s back, neck and wrist injuries
continued to cause him significant pain. The
medication given to him to treat only the symptoms - not the source -- did little to relieve the pain.

and had been in this country for years. But he was transferred to BTC via ICE’s Secure
Communities program. This program screens the fingerprints of anyone arrested by local police,
not only criminal convicts, and flags individuals suspected to be deportable.
At BTC, Manuel suffered from a diet that worsened his diabetes. He complained of weakness
and dizzy spells. His eyesight faltered, and consequently he always had to use his eyeglasses to
see at all. After two months in ICE detention suffering the unhealthy diet and feeling sick,
Manuel took voluntary departure. His detention cost taxpayers some $10,600 that could have
been better spent targeting the “most dangerous criminals.” 146 Before leaving Manuel said:
"We come here and we don't want to harm this country. We just want to help out
and work. My family doesn't understand how after working here so many years
they could do this to me. I know these are the laws, but we're not here to hurt
anyone, just to work." 147

The Shortness of Breath
A former detainee from Nicaraguan, Serafin Solorzano, recalled that he was denied the use of his
asthma inhaler during parts of a two-week detention at BTC in 2010. Without the inhaler, he felt
like he would suffocate. In May 2012 at a protest of the GEO Group in Palm Beach, he said:
“This is something that has violated my human rights.” 148

pg. 38

Comment [s36]: Could become a box in this
section.

Sexual Assault
In 2011, the PBS FRONTLINE documentary Lost in Detention exposed numerous abuses in
immigration detention. Among the most shocking revelation was the frequency of sexual abuse
complaints in U.S. immigration detention facilities. More than 170 allegations were reported
over a four year period ending in 2011. And that likely underestimates the problem, since many
detainees may not report sexual abuse for fear of being deported. Despite the serious nature of
these complaints, FRONTLINE’s in-depth investigation found “no evidence that the vast
majority of complaints had been investigated or resolved.” 149
Adding insult to injury, DHS was exempted from adopting standards to prevent and respond to
such abuses as mandated by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). In an encouraging
move, a May 2012 memo by President Obama concluded that PREA applied to all federal
confinement facilities, including those operated by ICE and CBP.
Thus, in December 2012, DHS Secretary Napolitano initiated the rulemaking process by
publishing a proposed rule on “Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse and
Assault in Confinement.” After a period of public comment, eventually ICE and CBP will be
subject to the standards once they are finalized. Even so, current ICE Standards are not
enforceable by law.
Regardless, the standards will come too late for the BTC detainees that were sexually abused in
2011 and 2012. Following are three reported cases of BTC detainee-on-detainee rape and sexual
assault.

No Medical Care or Investigation

Eliseo, 150 a young man detained at BTC, was repeatedly sexually assaulted by another detainee,
Claudio 151 during more than two months. Despite complaints by fellow detainees who witnessed
these abuses and ultimately by Eliseo himself, BTC ignored many complaints, delayed action to
protect Eliseo and failed to provide him counseling. Though BTC staff told Eliseo there would
be a formal complaint, there was little to no follow-up from BTC, ICE or DHS. We have no
knowledge that Eliseo’s sexual predator was ever charged or prosecuted for his heinous crimes.
Eliseo primarily speaks an indigenous language, although he also is able to speak and understand
some Spanish. He and Claudio were bunked above and below one another at BTC from about
August 2011 to end of October 2011. The harassment began shortly after Claudio was assigned
to a room with Eliseo. Claudio inappropriately touched Eliseo’s head, stole his blanket, and
farted in his face. Though Eliseo made it clear that he wanted the offensive behavior to stop,
Claudio laughed off Eliseo’s protestations.
The behavior only worsened. On at least three occasions, Claudio walked into their bathroom
knowing that Eliseo was using it. He pulled the shower curtain back while Eliseo was showering
to see him naked. To Eliseo’ horror, Claudio opened the bathroom door with Eliseo exposed
naked for others to see. 152
Offensive Groping

pg. 39

Comment [s37]: Text box
A young man detained at BTC, was repeatedly
sexually assaulted by another detainee during more
than two months. Despite complaints by fellow
detainees who witnessed these abuses and ultimately
by Eliseo himself, BTC ignored many complaints,
delayed action to protect Eliseo and failed to provide
him counseling.

On another occasion Claudio entered the bathroom while Eliseo was urinating, reached around
his waist and attempted to grab his genitals, but was unsuccessful after Eliseo avoided his lunge
and escaped from the bathroom. After each of these incidents, Eliseo admonished Claudio to stop
his behavior, to no avail.
Claudio’s abuse quickly escalated into sexual assaults. Claudio regularly pulled Eliseo’s pants
down while in their room together. He would grab Eliseo’s genitals while Eliseo climbed in and
out of his bunk and tried to penetrate Eliseo’s anus. He twice tried to penetrate Eliseo’s anus with
his finger. Claudio would come up from behind Eliseo, grab him, kiss his neck, grope his
genitals and call Eliseo his “love” in Spanish.
Much of this behavior occurred in front of other detainees. Claudio publicly and privately teased
Eliseo about the sexual abuse. He asked Eliseo to tell him how much he enjoyed being touched.
He mocked Eliseo’s faith and values, telling Eliseo that he owed Claudio for his “good”
treatment of Eliseo. 153
Physically Intimidating
Eliseo did not report the abuse at first because he was frightened for good reason. He stood less
than 5 feet tall and weighed less than 130 pounds. Claudio, who was about a foot taller and easily
more than 50 pounds heavier, was physically intimidating. Worse, Eliseo knew that Claudio had
fashioned a weapon by filing the handle of a toothbrush into an extremely sharp point and feared
that Claudio might seriously injure him if he complained to BTC authorities. Claudio also had a
reputation as the leader of a group of detainees who would attack other detainees that posed a
problem for any member.
Even so, some of Eliseo’s detainee friends complained about Claudio’s abuse of Eliseo. Eliseo
recalled seeing Claudio called out of their room by GEO guards on three separate occasions,
which appeared as though he was being reprimanded. On each occasion, Claudio returned to
their room angry and escalated his abuse. Claudio, however, was not moved from Eliseo’s room,
and BTC staff never sought to verify these complaints with Eliseo. 154
If BTC staff were responding to complaints about Claudio’s sexual abuse of Eliseo, they did not
offer Eliseo protection from further abuse. In short, BTC staff did not take sexual assault
complaints seriously.
No Investigation or Charges
At the end of October, Eliseo finally reported the abuse with the help and support of his Bible
study leader and friend, a fellow detainee. He and his friend submitted written statements about
the sexual abuse incidents and were interviewed by two BTC staff members. Both were told that
the interview notes and statements would be used for a formal complaint. Yet Eliseo received no
follow-up from BTC regarding his complaint. Nor was he provided any update or notification
regarding an investigation or charges filed against Claudio for the alleged sexual assaults and
harassment.
Immediately after Eliseo and his friend gave their statements, Eliseo was sent to the BTC
medical center with the understanding that he was going to be examined in connection with the
abuse. Yet he was never examined. After four hours Eliseo was sent back to his room for to be

pg. 40

Comment [s38]: Text Box
Eliseo knew that Claudio had fashioned a weapon by
filing the handle of a toothbrush into an extremely
sharp point and feared that Claudio might seriously
injure him if he complained to BTC authorities.

counted. To Eliseo’s utter shock and terror, he found an incensed Claudio still in his room.
Claudio knew that Eliseo had complained about him, and threatened to cut Eliseo’s penis with
his weapon.
Fortunately, Eliseo fled the room without injury and reported the threats before Claudio was able
to harm him. When Eliseo returned much later, Claudio was gone. BTC and ICE not only failed
to protect Eliseo from repeated sexual assault, but also placed his life in great danger by
returning him to the room still occupied by his violent tormentor.
Lack of Response
The resulting response to complaints about sexual assaults was irresponsible and unacceptable. It
also was contrary to ICE’s 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS),
which states. “Any detainee who alleges that he/she has been sexually assaulted shall be offered
immediate protection from the assailant and shall be referred for a medical examination and/or
clinical assessment for potential negative symptoms.” 155
In the beginning of 2012, an unidentified uniformed officer visited Eliseo at BTC and said he
was responding to his complaint. During this meeting, the officer failed to address any of
Eliseo’s requests and complaints regarding the sexual abuse, including his request for mental
health counseling. Instead, the officer suggested that Eliseo’s complaint was now moot, since his
abuser was no longer at BTC.
Still, Eliseo continued to feel traumatized. He feared that members of his abuser’s gang would
retaliate against him. Eliseo also continued to suffer harassment on a daily basis by other
detainees who knew that Claudio sexually abused him. Eliseo said:
“I feel ashamed and depressed after the abuse inflicted upon me. I’ve come to feel
broken, beaten down and traumatized from the sexual abuse and verbal abuse
throughout this time. I constantly have nightmares in which I am attacked and
harmed by others while helpless to stop them.” 156
Therapy Not Provided
Consequently, Eliseo became very depressed, withdrawn and demoralized and complained of
regular nightmares, insomnia and lack of appetite. Though he desperately wanted and needed
psychological counseling due to his trauma, BTC did not provide it. This, too, ignored the 2011
PBNDS, which state: “Victims shall be provided . . . mental health services and ongoing care. . .
a mental health professional shall evaluate the need for crisis intervention counseling and longterm follow-up.”157
In a December 2011 letter, AI Justice requested ICE’s local field office to immediately release
Eliseo. We also asked for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the repeated sexual
assaults by Claudio, the lack of follow-up regarding the complaints made to the guards, and the
lack of follow-up of Eliseo’s own complaint to BTC staff. 158
The first substantive response to the December 2011 letter came from the DHS Office for Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) 159 in March 2012. In a phone call, a CRCL staff member said

pg. 41

Comment [s39]: Text box
“I feel ashamed and depressed after the abuse
inflicted upon me. I’ve come to feel broken,
beaten down and traumatized from the sexual
abuse and verbal abuse throughout this time. I
constantly have nightmares.”
Eliseo, a victim of sexual assault at BTC

they conducted an investigation into the handling of the initial complaint and were going to look
into the lack of follow-up on the complaint. 160 In a subsequent conversation with an AI Justice
attorney, the CRCL staff member said he would look into Eliseo’s mental-health issues. He also
indicated he would investigate harassment at BTC and see how such incidents could be
prevented in the future.
Gave Up
Eliseo was not released, however. Altogether, he was detained by ICE for about eight months,
including five months after making a substantiated complaint of sexual abuse by another
detainee at BTC. When he tried to report the sexual abuse in Immigration Court, the presiding
judge cut him off. Eliseo then lost his appeal and decided he could not endure the strain of
detention any longer. He stopped fighting. Eliseo was deported in late April 2012.
The final letter from CRCL arrived at AI Justice on Jan. 25, 2012, nearly nine months after
Eliseo had been deported and more than a year since we had asked local ICE to release him, to
no avail. The letter said:
“Based on the information provided by ICE, and our review, we believe that ICE
took appropriate steps to follow up with [Eliseo] regarding the safety and mental
health care issues you identified.” 161
In AI Justice’s estimation, CRCL’s response could not have been any further from the reality at
BTC. We find it difficult to understand how our government can be so indifferent to a vulnerable
immigrant victim who was repeatedly sexually assaulted while in ICE custody. Regrettably, the
failure of BTC staff to seriously address Eliseo’s complaints was not an isolated incident.

A Vulnerable Detainee

Not long after Eliseo was deported, Jorge 162 was sexually harassed and sexually abused at BTC.
A trauma expert confirmed that Jorge was naïve young man from a remote rural area who had
fled his home country to escape abuse and neglect. Often beaten by his father, Jorge was forced
to work in coffee fields at age 14. Yet Jorge still dreamed of continuing his education.
Eventually, he fled the brutality of his life and headed north. He was one of thousands of
unaccompanied minors seeking refuge each year. 163
After his arrival, Jorge was placed in a shelter for unaccompanied minors and lived with other
children. Eventually, when it was determined that he no longer eligible – because he was age 18
– he was detained at BTC.
It was clear that Jorge was vulnerable due to his age and stature. Nonetheless, BTC housed him
with much older adult detainees. In doing so, BTC ignored Part 2.2 of the 2011 PBNDS that
provides: “Special consideration shall be given to any factor that would raise the risk of
vulnerability, victimization or assault.” 164
Not surprisingly, Jorge’s experience at BTC was terrifying from the start. Upon arrival, two
detainees yelled out, “Fresh meat has arrived.” Soon, several Brazilian detainees began to harass
him on a daily basis. They blew kisses at Jorge, called him “guapo” (attractive) and made sexual

pg. 42

Comment [s40]: Text Box
It was clear that Jorge was vulnerable due to his age
and stature. Nonetheless, BTC housed him with
much older adult detainees.

comments that made him uncomfortable. The inappropriate comments encouraged other
detainees to join in the harassment. Jorge described the situation:
“All these comments were often made in front of other detainees, especially the
other five with whom I shared a room, so they all made fun of me and would
repeat some of the things they said. Everyone thought it was very funny, but I
knew it was not a game. 165
Rude Awakening
It did not take long before the verbal harassment escalated to physical sexual abuse. On one
occasion in his second week at BTC, Jorge fell asleep early in his bed -- only to be rudely
awakened. The two Brazilian men who had called him “fresh meat” had jumped atop him. As
one assailant pinned Jorge down, the other assailant undressed him and tried to unbutton Jorge’s
pants. One assailant told Jorge that he was looking very good and asked if Jorge had ever had
sexual relations. As Jorge pushed his hands away, an assailant pulled up Jorge’s shirt and began
caressing Jorge’s chest.
Jorge managed to escape from the bed and ran out into the hall, in front of a security camera. He
told the assailants: “If you want to do something, do it here in front of the camera.” The
assailants cursed Jorge and accused him of being scared, but left.
Soon afterwardt, Jorge tried to report the sexual harassment and sexual assault to a BTC guard.
The guard refused to respond to Jorge’s plea for help, telling Jorge that he did not speak Spanish
and could not understand him.
Such indifference by the guard at BTC runs counter to the 2011 PBNDS, which requires
detention facilities to post “Sexual Assault Awareness Information” on housing-unit bulletin
boards in English and Spanish.166 It follows that, if a Spanish-speaking detainee is seeking
protection from sexual abuse and sexual assault, detention center staff would assist the Spanishspeaking detainee with a translator or locate Spanish-speaking staff to help the detainee report
the abuse, receive protection from additional abuse, and receive appropriate medical and mental
health services. That did not happen in Jorge’s case.
‘Ashamed and Embarrassed’
After the incident in his bed, Jorge remained in constant fear of being victimized, given that BTC
staff had demonstrated their unwillingness to help or even receive the report of the first incident.
Jorge managed to evade some of the sexual harassment by working in BTC’s kitchen and
avoiding his assailants.
For nearly four months during his detention at BTC, Jorge was subjected to repeated sexual
abuse and harassment. He remained in constant fear that he would be sexually assaulted.
In the end, AI Justice submitted a release request on other grounds, and Jorge was transferred
back to the shelter that housed him previously. There, he also received trauma-counseling
sessions with a licensed social worker who is a certified traumatologist and was familiar with
Jorge from his previous stay.

pg. 43

Comment [s41]: Text box
The BTC guard refused to respond to Jorge’s plea
for help, telling Jorge that he did not speak Spanish
and could not understand him.

The social worker noted that Jorge exhibited symptoms of trauma as she shared his traumatic
experience at BTC. The trauma expert concluded that he sustained serious harm as a result of the
sexual abuse he endured and BTC’s failure to prevent, detect and respond to it appropriately. 167

A Brutal Rape

Enrique 168 is a hardworking and dedicated father of young, U.S. citizen children. One night in
Bradenton, Florida, while outside a convenience store with his 9-year-old son, immigration
officers approached Henry with guns drawn and took him into immigration custody. He was
transferred to BTC hundreds of miles from his home, family, and community. He remained in
detention while his immigration case was pending.
After some months in detention, Enrique was attacked by a brutal rapist at BTC in summer 2012.
Enrique had gone to the bathroom in the early morning hours. After he undressed to shower, the
bathroom light was shut off and he was pinned to the wall from behind. Then he felt a sharp
object pressed into his back and was paralyzed with fear. During the assault, the unknown rapist
fondled Enrique’s penis and penetrated Enrique’s anus with both a finger and a sharp object. At
no time was he able to see his abuser.
At first, Enrique was too ashamed to report the abuse. But the pain became unbearable. “I
thought something inside me had ripped,” he said. On the way to BTC’s medical clinic, Enrique
found an officer and told him what had happened:
“I told him that somebody hurt me, I got raped in the shower. So he took me to
the clinic and I could hardly walk by then, it was so painful.” 169
After determining that he needed further treatment, BTC took Enrique to a local hospital. BTC
medical staff reported that he had the highest level of distress on the protocol sheet. 170 Rather
than transport him to the hospital in an ambulance, which is equipped for emergencies, he was
shackled, stuffed into a van and treated to a needlessly agonizing ride.
“I was forced to step up to the minivan and go all the way to the back, but I said
that it was too painful to go up the stairs,” Enrique said. So they pulled me,
sliding me up, and another officer lifted my feet. They put handcuffs on me and
cuffed my feet and brought me to the hospital. It was excruciating. 171
Handcuffed and Shackled
At the hospital Enrique was given morphine for the pain and underwent surgery to remove the
object shoved inside him during the brutal assault at BTC. Enrique also received medical
treatment at a local sexual assault treatment center. Though he was a rape victim who required
immediate surgery to remove a foreign object from his body, he was forced to receive medical
care while handcuffed and shackled virtually the entire time, which further traumatized him. 172
Afterward, Enrique was transferred to Krome and placed in the short-stay medical unit. While
his placement was based on safety concerns, the prolonged period in isolation threatened to
magnify his trauma. Yet ICE did not offer or provide the trauma counseling he desperately
needed -- even though the mental health consequences of sexual violence in detention are well

pg. 44

Comment [s42]: Text box
“I was forced to step up to the minivan and go all the
way to the back, but I said that it was too painful to
go up the stairs…. They put handcuffs on me and
cuffed my feet and brought me to the hospital. It was
excruciating”
Enrique, after being brutally raped at BTC

documented. In the absence of immediate and proper care, the long-term consequences can be
devastating. 173
ICE Policy Ignored
AI Justice recognized that Enrique was deeply distressed and needed counseling. We referred
him to TRC, which provided him pro bono counseling services. TRC’s expert therapist
confirmed that Enrique exhibited symptoms of someone who was deeply traumatized due to the
sexual assault. 174
In sharp contrast, Enrique’s encounters with an ICE staff psychiatrist did not address the special
needs of a sexual assault victim and were far from therapeutic. 175 The notes suggest that the ICE
psychiatrist was more interested in Enrique’s immigration case than providing therapy to a
victim of a brutal rape who was severely traumatized. Thus, the psychiatrist also ignored another
standard that states: “Staff shall take seriously all statements from detainees claiming to be
victims of sexual assaults, and shall respond supportively and non-judgmentally.” 176
While detained at Krome, Enrique’s anxiety was exacerbated by his concern for his U.S. citizen
son. He told AI Justice:
“My 10-year-old son has bad asthma. He uses an inhaler and a nebulizer. He spent
10 days in the hospital earlier this year. I’m real worried about him now because
he needs me to take care of him. It’s so hard for him now that I’m detained, and I
worry about him all the time. We’re so close, he’s my heart.” 177
In October 19, 2012, AI Justice formally requested Enrique’s release, stay of deportation, and
deferred action. 178 Finally, he was released on an Order of Supervision on November 1, 2012. He
had spent more than seven long months in ICE detention, including three and a half months after
being raped at BTC.

Systemic Concerns
After discovering multiple incidents of detainee-on-detainee sexual assaults at BTC, we believe
that these are not isolated episodes, but are recurring acts of sexual violence due to systemic
problems. AI Justice is concerned that:
•

BTC staff does not properly screen its detainees. At a November 2012 meeting, Miami
ICE management told AI Justice that BTC detainees are screened to ensure that they fall
within criteria for placement in a minimum secure facility. Though BTC allegedly is a model,
minimum security detention facility, BTC detainees have described to AI Justice gang tattoos
seen when other detainees are undressed. Typically, these tattoos are not visible while
detainees are wearing orange jumpsuits. The tattoos reportedly resembled those of the Mara
Salvatrucha and MS-18, violent street gangs based out of El Salvador and Honduras.179
Under ICE 2011 PBNDS, custody classification involves assessing whether a detainee’s
tattoos identify a threat group such as traditional street gangs. 180
BTC detainees also have reported seeing detainees physically assaulting other detainees in
the pods, where there are no cameras. These incidents apparently occurred during times BTC

pg. 45

Comment [s43]: Text box
BTC detainees also have reported seeing detainees
physically assaulting other detainees in the pods,
where there are no cameras. These incidents
apparently occurred during times BTC staff was not
on guard.

staff was not on guard. We know detainees who, due to factors such as age, height, sexual
orientation, or gender identity, were targets for sexual abuse. Detainees say that the sexual
assaults are in essence weapons of control and intimidation by bullies.
•

Sexual abuse complaints by detainees are not taken seriously by BTC staff.
In the case of Eliseo outlined above, multiple detainees and the victim himself complained to
BTC staff about the sexual abuse inflicted upon him by an assigned roommate for months.
Yet BTC staff did not seriously investigate or respond to those shocking complaints.
In another case, an 18-year-old detainee was sexually assaulted in his bed by two other
detainees. When he tried to report the assault, the BTC guard refused to help, saying he did
not speak Spanish. Nor was there any attempt to find a Spanish-speaking translator for an
obviously distressed detainee.
In yet another example in early 2011, BTC denied the release of a woman who had been
sexually assaulted by a CBP officer at Miami International Airport. She cooperated with
DHS investigators, and ultimately in the successful prosecution of the agent. Even though
she had passed her credible fear interview and should have been eligible for parole as an
arriving alien, her BTC deportation officer denied her release. He told her she had to stay in
custody pending interviews regarding the sexual assault. 181

•

BTC sexual abuse victims are not offered counseling at BTC after reporting that they are
victims of sexual abuse. That is contrary to the 2011 PBNDS, which state: “Victims shall be
provided . . . mental health services and ongoing care . . . a mental health professional shall
evaluate the need for crisis intervention counseling and long-term follow-up.” 182 BTC
provided no trauma counseling in the cases featured in this section. In two of the cases,
detainee victims of sexual assault did get such counseling, but only after AI Justice referred
them to an organization that provides pro bono trauma therapy.

pg. 46

Legal Access Concerns at BTC
One persistent issue at BTC has been the lack of private space for attorneys to meet with their
clients. Attorneys are duty-bound to maintain the confidentiality of client communication. From
the beginning, detention center management acknowledged the need for private space. When AI
Justice (then FIAC 183) staff toured the facility in 2002, they were told they would have “private,
confidential attorney visitation” in a room upstairs, a room downstairs, and possibly one other
room. 184
In 2003, we raised concerns that as many as three attorneys were being placed in the same room
for consultation with their clients, eliminating any possibility of attorney-client confidentiality.
The upstairs room was not confidential, which meant we could only use the downstairs room.
Yet our legal staff had to wait more than an hour before detainees requested were brought to see
them in the downstairs visitation room. 185
In 2004, two staff members coming to provide regularly scheduled Know Your Rights (KYR)
presentations were denied access to the facility. The facility administrator had been erroneously
told by an ICE official that women could go to KYR presentations only once. AI Justice staff
also was wrongly denied access to a group of individual women because we did not formally
represent them – even though attorneys are allowed to screen potential clients before agreeing to
representation, which is what we intended to do. 186
Searching for Privacy
In 2007, we were again shut out of private, confidential attorney/client space at BTC. At one
point, an AI Justice attorney requested a private setting to see a client and listed five areas that
could be used for that purpose. The assistant facility administrator responded saying: “BTC is
aware of the importance of attorney/client confidentiality and takes measures to ensure it.” In an
Orwellian twist, she spelled out all the non-private spaces that he could use. 187
In 2009, AI Justice noted that attorneys visiting BTC “often may not speak privately with clients
because the only legal visitation room is an open area shared by multiple attorneys visiting with
clients.” 188 One AI Justice attorney recalls seeing an ICE officer with a detainee several times in
that visitation room. That year, construction began to expand BTC to its current size. When AI
Justice reviewed the construction plans, it looked like there would be adequate confidential space
as Administration officials had assured us.
Then the space was renovated with moveable partitions through which every conversation could
be heard. It was not private by any stretch of the imagination. Yet GEO said that ICE and the
Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) had approved the space as confidential. AI
Justice Attorneys continued to insist on getting confidential spaces when meeting with clients,
and BTC accommodated us on an ad hoc basis.
In 2010, we again demanded confidential attorney-client rooms citing ICE’s own standards:
“Visits between legal representatives … and an individual detainee are confidential…. Private
consultation rooms shall be made available for such meetings.” We also asked BTC to clearly

pg. 47

Comment [s44]: Text box
The space for confidential attorney/client visits was
renovated with moveable partitions through which
every conversation could be heard. It was not private
by any stretch of the imagination.

notify detainees with adequate lead time so they could attend KYR presentations.189 GEO
ultimately designated four confidential rooms for attorney-client meetings.
Limited Access to Law Library
In October 2010 AI Justice again wrote ICE officials, reiterating our long-standing concern that
detainee access to the law library was restricted to two hours daily, absent emergencies, and that
female detainee access coincided with their morning outdoor recreation time. 190 This issue was
resolved shortly thereafter.
BTC’s failure in 2010, following the build-out, to provide an adequate and safe space for the
immigration court caused the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to remove the
sole immigration judge from BTC. Beginning February 2010, all merits hearings for BTC staff
were held via teleconference, denying them an in-person hearing. Attorneys were forced to
choose between appearing in person before the judge who was housed at the Miami Immigration
Court or appearing via video so they could confer with their client during the hearing. 191 This
was eventually resolved months later.
In April 2012, AI Justice attorneys met with ICE’s AFOD and GEO’s BTC facility manager to
discuss multiple concerns, including the lack of space for meeting detainees as well as verbal
abuse and discrimination of detainees. Since then, AI Justice has noted improvement in access to
meeting rooms and fewer complaints of verbal abuse.
Ultimately, BTC remains a jail for a population that should not be detained: non-violent people
who pose minimal flight risk or threat to their communities. Confidential space would not be in
such demand if detainees were released. They then would be better able to find legal counsel and
make their case for relief from deportation in immigration court. Only 16 percent of detainees are
represented by a lawyer. By comparison, the figure shoots up to 42 percent for non-detained
individuals in deportation proceedings. 192

pg. 48

Comment [s45]: Text box
BTC remains a jail for a population that should not
be detained: non-violent people who pose minimal
flight risk or threat to their communities.
Confidential space would not be in such demand if
detainees were released.

Gratuitous Abuses
BOX
AI Justice often finds instances of detainee mistreatment in Florida’s detention facilities. Many
of the BTC detainees we have seen have been apprehended after being singled out for
questioning by CBP or local police for no apparent reason other than their appearance or
language -- without any reasonable suspicion that they may not have lawful immigration
status. 193 Florida Fish and Wildlife have also confirmed to AI Justice that they routinely turn
suspected undocumented immigrants over to ICE.
BOX
In fall 2010, AI Justice conducted a survey at BTC, where detainees have no or only a minor
criminal history. Some were passengers in cars stopped for routine traffic violations. Others
included DREAM Act eligible students picked up at bus stops and train stations by Border Patrol
agents. All but two of the detainees interviewed were Hispanic. For every two detainees
interviewed, one minor child—generally a U.S. citizen—was separated from a parent or
caregiver who was placed in immigration detention.194
Once detained at BTC, immigrants have been subject to verbal abuse by GEO officers, which AI
Justice attorneys have witnessed. Detainees also have been targeted by GEO guards for
punishment or preferential behavior, depending on their racial ethnicity. We also see arbitrary
ICE decisions that seriously impact detainees’ prospects in immigration court and their ultimate
future.
BOX
Even in extremely sympathetic cases where detainees are not flight risks and pose no danger to
U.S. communities, ICE unnecessarily denies and/or delays releasing them from custody. This
routinely occurs at BTC, though it only detains individuals without criminal history or with only
minor infractions, such as traffic offenses. In April 2012, AI Justice sent a letter to then BTC’s
Assistant Field Office Director. The letter concluded:
“The continued detention of individuals who fall outside of ICE’s enforcement
priorities, along with the delay in responding to release requests and our other
inquiries leads to unnecessary prolonged detention, increases the suffering of
detainees and their families, and wastes ICE’s valuable resources. It also runs
contrary to ICE’s stated policies and priorities.” 195
The following are examples of gratuitous abuses at BTC.
No Way Home
Lateefah, 196 a survivor of domestic violence, has obvious mental health issues. Thus, an AI
Justice Attorney requested BTC to notify her when Lateefah was to be released so safe
arrangements could be made for Lateefah to travel home, a four hour drive across the state.
It did not happen that way. BTC released Lateefah on the day before Thanksgiving without
notifying her attorney or relatives. Consequently, Lateefah waited hours outside of BTC, without

pg. 49

Comment [s46]: “The security guards at BTC
treat us like we are nobody, like we are not human
beings. We are not criminals. We are just
immigrants.”
Told to AI Justice attorneys by a detainee.
September 2012

Comment [s47]:
“Americans enjoy their personal space, so you
should stand an arms length away at all times…
Americans do not like being talked to in a loud,
rapid manner.”
BTC Handbook, “tips” for detainees. 2004-2005

a phone, any money and no idea how to go home. She waited hours, hoping someone would pick
her up and take her.
Luckily, a Good Samaritan who arrived to pick up another detainee bought her a bus ticket and
took her to the bus station and Lateefah arrived home. Had the Good Samaritan not rescued her,
there is no telling what might have happened to her outside of BTC, in front of a very busy
divided highway, in an unfamiliar town, without her attorney or any relative knowing she had
been released.
Refused Papers
Early one morning in November 2009, two Reyes brothers, Jesus and Guillermo, were rousted
from sleep by ICE officers coming through their door. Other family members were not at home
at the time. ICE detained Jesus and Guillermo at BTC and threatened to deport them to their
home country of Venezuela. Both brothers had ties to Miami Dade College (MDC) at the time.
Jesus, then 21, had been the president of MDC’s sprawling Kendall Campus Student
Government Association during 2007-2008 and remained active in student activities. Guillermo,
then 25, had recently earned a computer-animation degree at MDC.
BOX
Once AI Justice learned of the brother’s plight, AI Justice represented them and requested their
release from BTC. We asked Congress members for letters of support, participated in mass
rallies that garnered media attention on behalf of the brothers, and garnered further support from
DHS and other government contacts.
Jesus and Guillermo spent eight miserable days at BTC, separated from their family and worried
that they might be deported to a country they had left years before. AI Justice got the call that the
brothers were being released on a Friday. We immediately drove to BTC to pick them up. Once
there, we waited some time without any sign that they had been released.
Eventually, two young men walked out of BTC, and we met Jesus and Guillermo. They were
very upset because BTC staff had refused to return their immigration documents. When our
attorney asked BTC staff to return those papers to our clients, BTC staff was rude and arrogant -and would not provide the papers. When we asked to see the BTC chief, staff told us that the
chief was not there and to come back for the papers some other day. Ultimately AI Justice
retrieved the brothers’ papers at a later date. 197
Since then the brothers have continued to study and contribute to the greater community. As of
February 2013, Jesus is in his first year of law school and is looking forward to becoming an
attorney. Married to a U.S. Citizen, he has become a Legal Permanent Resident.
In 2013, Guillermo is graduating with a Bachelor’s degree with honors in Multimedia Studies:
Film, Video & New Media. Additionally, he has earned a minor in Studio Art. While Guillermo
has been active in community service, he and a classmate have incorporated “Unlimited Flow,” a
small design agency. His work and service contribute to the economy and the greater good. Both
brothers clearly have talent that promises to enrich our country.

pg. 50

Comment [s48]: Use the photo of the Reyes
brothers, Jesus and Guillermo.

Comment [s49]:
“I don’t know how you do what you do. It’s not like
they (detainees) are people.”
—GEO Officer to AI Justice attorney 2012

Questionable Due Process
At BTC, a minimum-security detention facility, all detainees in deportation proceedings go to
immigration court before only one judge, Rex J. Ford. Though most detainees are eligible to be
released on bond and have no criminal history, Judge Ford rarely grants bond. Asylum seekers
who have appeared before him have seldom been granted relief. In fiscal year 2011, he ordered
asylum seekers who came before him deported 96 percent of the time. 198
Judge Ford has one of the highest asylum denial rates in the nation -- 93 percent for the period
2007 to 2012. Only four out of 273 immigration judges nationwide denied asylum at a higher
rate. 199 From 2006 to 2010, Haitians represented 61 percent of his caseload and have, therefore,
been disproportionately impacted by Judge Ford’s decisions.
From 2000 to 2005, many Haitians fled violence in their homeland. They often ended up
detained in South Florida and going before judges in South Florida’s immigration courts. During
that period, Haitians were the largest group of asylum seekers appearing before Judge Ford.
Overall, he denied asylum in 90 percent of all the cases that he decided in the Miami court. 200
By comparison, Judge Denise Slavin denied asylum in 41 percent of the asylum cases she
decided during the same time period -- even though Haitians were the largest group of asylum
seekers appearing before both of them and the percent of Haitian cases heard by both judges
were similar. 201
BOX
Haitian Rocket Docket
What happened following the October 2002 arrival of a boat with 200 Haitians was telling. As
late as 2001, Haitian asylum seekers who had passed credible fear interviews had been released
from custody and allowed up to a year to pursue their cases in a Miami immigration courts. By
the time Haitians from the October boat went before immigration judges, Haitians were detained
and forced to prepare for their asylum cases in an expedited, Haitian-only docket – a policy
decision dictated from Washington D.C.

Comment [s50]: “Without attorneys or
adequate time to prepare their asylum cases,
Haitians have no due process.”
Miami Herald editorial, Dec. 23, 2002

In short, Haitians were denied due process under the law. 202
AI Justice wrote a letter to the Executive Office for Immigration Review describing the
difficulties that our attorneys and others were facing in representing these Haitians. The obstacles
included insufficient time to meet with clients, inadequate meeting space, hours-long waits to
meet clients, curtailed visitation hours, and the unusually accelerated hearing schedule. 203
Pro bono agencies like AI Justice and Catholic Charities Legal Services were overwhelmed by
the number of new cases. Thus, most Haitians came before Judge Ford without an attorney.
Nonetheless, the Haitians were given less than a week to fill out asylum applications, prepare
their arguments and gather supporting evidence.
BOX

pg. 51

Comment [s51]: “Until recently, Haitian asylum
seekers were release and given up to a yea to find
an attorney, collect corroborative evidence and
have their cases scheduled in a downtown Miami
immigration court.”
Miami Herald article, Dec. 12, 2002

These are difficult tasks in any case, but practically impossible for detainees who cannot produce
key documents and have no lawyer. During one week in December 2002, 20 of the 21 Haitian
detainees with hearings in his court were denied asylum and deported by Judge Ford. 204
BOX
More recently, Judge Ford has earned an undisputed record regarding “stipulated orders.” The
consequences of agreeing to a stipulated order can be drastic. According to a 2011 report:
“Immigrants who sign stipulated removal orders give up their right to a hearing
before an immigration judge and agree to have a formal removal order entered
against them, even if they may be eligible to remain in the U.S.”
Judge Ford has approved almost 10,000 stipulated orders for deportation in the last three years:
nearly 3,000 a month in the last three years. That is a national record among judges who review
stipulated orders. 205

BOX
Signing Without Knowing
The numbers are disturbing. According to an immigration court rule, before an immigration
judge approves a stipulated order, he or she must determine that a detainee has waived his or her
rights in a “voluntary, intelligent and knowing” manner.

Comment [s52]: BOX – Please use SB
“I follow the law. I follow the book, and I don’t get
reversed.”
Immigration Judge Ford, quoted in the Sun Sentinel,
March 7, 2013

Unfortunately, many detainees do not know their rights. Most of them have not had the
opportunity to consult with an attorney and do not understand the consequences of signing
stipulated orders. Some detainees have reported feeling bullied or tricked into signing such
orders. Some detainees have said they were told they had no immigration relief.
Immigration judges who review stipulated removal orders in other areas of the country have
expressed serious due-process concerns about the program. 206 The concern is shared by highranking officials at EOIR, the federal agency that manages the immigration courts. In
correspondence, EOIR Legal Access Counsel Beth Gibson, noted:
BOX
“[I]t seems oxymoronic that an IJ [immigration judge] who has no contact with
the alien (other than taking notice of a signature) can make a reasoned
determination that an alien knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily agrees to a
stipulated removal.” 207
Other immigration judges bring detainees to hearings to make sure that they understand the
stipulated removal orders they signed. Judge Ford doesn’t. 208
Courtroom Demeanor
Judge Ford’s practices in the courtroom have been questioned, as well. For example, he
sets his own rules regarding bond. Judge Ford requires respondents to file an application
for immigration relief before he will even consider bond, which has no basis in the law.

pg. 52

Comment [s53]: “Our experience has been, in
unrepresented cases, that the alien is told that if he
wants go [sic] get out of jail he should sign this
paper.”
–Email from an immigration judge to EOIR Officials,
from the report, Deportation Without Due Process,
June 15, 2006

When making bond determinations, judges consider factors such as whether the
respondent is a danger to the community or a flight risk. Bond decisions are custody
determinations and are not contingent on the merits of the case in question.
However, Judge Ford has denied bond citing case law that the detainee was unlikely to
prevail on the merits of an asylum claim if, for example, it is based on gang persecution.
It is troubling that when making decisions that directly impact the liberty of detainees,
Judge Ford is creating both procedural and substantive requirements which are
unsubstantiated by law.

Comment [s54]: Text box
Carmen headed north from her home country
seeking safety from a brutal ex-husband and from
another assailant who had attacked her with a
machete. Apprehended at the border in Texas, she
was detained at BTC in 2012

Rated by Attorneys
The 2011 South Florida American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) poll of
immigration judges in the area has further provided a measure of Judge Ford’s
performance on various categories. He was the judge rated by the most AILA voters.
AILA voters who rated him placed Judge Ford in the bottom half of all South Florida
immigration judges in terms of his knowledge of the law. Judge Ford fell short, as well,
in other surveyed measures:
•
•
•

Asked, “Does this judge remain impartial?” a full 59 percent of the AILA voters
rated him not qualified; another 18 percent rated him only somewhat qualified.
Asked, about his “judicial temperament,” 65 percent of the AILA voters rated him
not qualified or somewhat qualified.
Overall, 59 percent of the AILA voters rated him not qualified or somewhat
qualified.

The three cases below are further examples of Judge Ford’s conduct in BTC court.
A Machete Attack
Carmen 209 headed north from her home country seeking safety from a brutal ex-husband
and from another assailant who had attacked her with a machete. Apprehended at the
border in Texas, she was detained at BTC in 2012 and placed in deportation proceedings
before Judge Ford.
Though she had evidence that documented her case for asylum, Carmen had no attorney
representing her in BTC’s immigration court. Early on, she told Judge Ford via translator
that she wanted to request asylum. Without providing Carmen any explanation about the
requirements or procedures for asylum, Judge Ford merely gave her a blank asylum
application (Form I-589) and told her to return it filled out in English, which is the
requirement in immigration court. Without an attorney, Carmen relied on a friend, a
fellow detainee, to help her fill out the asylum application – a 10-page form with
numerous boxes to fill and questions to answer.210
Months later, Carmen appeared pro se at her merits hearing and testified that her asylum
application was filled out by a detainee friend she had met while in detention. During the
proceedings, Carmen expressed a fear of return to her native country due to two men.

pg. 53

•

One was the assailant who had attacked her with a machete when she was
younger. When she asked Judge Ford if she could show him her own scars from
the brutal attack she suffered, he responded: “No, ma’am. That’s not appropriate.
Okay?”

•

Carmen also feared her former common-law husband. She testified that he
“mistreated” her and wanted to “force me to be with” him. Carmen submitted a
letter from therapists who had sessions with her while she was detained. The letter
noted that her comments had been consistent with those of other domestic
violence victims. Despite being presented with this important information, Judge
Ford failed to meaningfully question Carmen about the abuse that she had
suffered.
Comment [s55]: Text box
Maria fled her homeland after enduring a decade of
domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, who
pummeled and threatened to kill her almost every
day. While on her way to see a friend in Florida,
CBP arrested Maria on a Greyhound bus.

Box
An immigration judge has a duty to explain procedures to a pro se respondent. He also
has a duty to probe for relevant facts in developing the record in immigration
proceedings. Failure to meet these basic requirements violates the right to a
fundamentally fair hearing – which is exactly what happened to Carmen.
Judge Ford violated Carmen’s Fifth Amendment right to due process by failing to explain
procedures, failing to develop the record, and failing to probe all relevant facts –
constitutional defects that were amplified by Carmen’s pro se status. The failure to
develop the record prejudiced her because it closed avenues of inquiry that may have
demonstrated her eligibility for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention against
Torture relief. 211
After Carmen had been detained for more than six months, AI Justice informally
requested ICE at BTC to release her. Though she clearly was a vulnerable victim, her
release was denied. The following month, AI Justice filed an appeal with the Board of
Immigration Appeals on Carmen’s behalf, which remains pending.
Both Carmen and her attorney repeatedly were told by ICE that detainees are not released
while their cases are on appeal. A victim of domestic violence and torture, Carmen
continued to languish in detention. Carmen was finally released in late February. She
likely would have remained detained much longer if not for federal budget cuts triggered
by sequestration, which resulted in thousands of detainees being released. 212
Survived Domestic Violence
Maria 213 fled her Latin American homeland in her 20s after enduring a decade of domestic abuse
at the hands of her husband, who pummeled and threatened to kill her almost every day. While
on her way to see a friend in Florida, CBP arrested Maria on a Greyhound bus.
Though she had never been arrested or convicted of any crime and was not an ICE enforcement
priority, she was detained at BTC in 2011 and placed in immigration proceedings. AI Justice met
her at BTC and believed she had a strong claim for asylum based on the repeated and severe
domestic violence she faced at the hands of her husband.

pg. 54

Later that month, while still detained, Maria appeared before Judge Ford without an attorney.
She submitted her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the
Convention Against Torture. Substantiating her case were more than a dozen documents.
Among them were statements from local police in her home town noting that Maria and two
other witnesses reported that Maria’s husband threatened to kill her and had physically and
mentally abused her. Other relatives and friends corroborated the horrific and unchecked
violence inflicted by Maria’s abuser. One noted that Maria’s “husband beat her up, and she
would come to me soaked in blood.” Another commented, “I’ll have to go to her burial” if Maria
is sent back to her home country and to abuse.
Box
Maria lost her asylum case pro se before Judge Ford. AI Justice continues to represent her on
appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Maria had testified credibly and consistently
and her testimony was supported by statements and country condition documents. Yet Judge
Ford relied on clear factual errors in finding that Maria’s testimony lacked credibility, including
misstatements and misinterpretations of the record. He also erred by denying Maria relief based
solely on a finding of adverse credibility.

Comment [s56]: Text box
Maria suffered from anxiety and nightmares. Such
symptoms are understandable given the trauma she
had faced for so many years. Yet BTC did not
provide therapy and other services that she
desperately needed.

Meantime, while at BTC for months, Maria suffered from anxiety and nightmares. Such
symptoms are understandable given the trauma she had faced for so many years. Yet BTC did
not provide therapy and other services that she desperately needed.
AI Justice’s request for Maria’s release from BTC noted that she posed no danger and was not a
flight risk. AI Justice had secured housing and other services that Maria needed, including
counseling. 214 AI Justice also sent a note referencing the June 17, 2011 Morton memo, which
singles out victims of domestic violence and asylum seekers among those who should be
considered for prosecutorial discretion. 215
ICE responded by denying Maria’s release, saying that: “Cases of this nature are rarely
considered for release and are held pending a decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals:
the Morton memo had “no bearing on your client.” 216
Maria spent five months in detention. Judge Ford’s denial of her asylum case lengthened her
stay. Only after AI Justice contacted senior DHS officials was Maria released, and only then was
she able to obtain much needed services. AI Justice continues to represent Maria in her pending
asylum case before the BIA.
A Downward Spiral
In 2008 a detained Chinese woman with a history of suicide attempts and mental instability tried
to fight her deportation in immigration court without an attorney. Xiu Ping Jiang, an asylum
seeker, had fled China after being forcibly sterilized at age 20.
During more than a year in detention at the Glades jail, often in solitary confinement, her mental
state deteriorated. Nonetheless she was taken to her first court hearing at BTC and began to

pg. 55

Comment [s57]: Judge Ford ordered her
deported. He even noted on the record that she had
failed to appear in court --- even though she had
actually been physically present.

answer Judge Ford’s questions in imperfect English. Judge Ford warned her not to respond until
after the interpreter finished translating into Mandarin. But she did respond: “Sir, I not -- cannot
go home,” she told the judge. “If I die, I die America.” 217
Jiang had no criminal history or lawyer, and her mental illness raised obvious questions about
her competency before the court. Yet Judge Ford ordered her deported. He even noted on the
record that she had failed to appear in court --- even though she had actually been physically
present. 218
Fortunately, after this story appeared in The New York Times, another immigration judge
reopened her case. Jiang was released on bail in her sister’s custody and received desperately
needed treatment. A pro bono attorney took her case. A year later, she was granted asylum in
immigration court. 219
Without an attorney or media attention, Jiang could easily have been deported, like many other
mentally ill detainees who fall down the detention rabbit hole and are deported.

pg. 56

Recommendations
Systemic Reform: Congress should comprehensively reform the nation’s dysfunctional
immigration system in a commonsense manner that preserves family unity, provides needed
legal workers and benefits the nation as a whole. Implemented properly, most of the nation’s 11
million aspiring Americans would be eligible for a path to permanent legal status and citizenship.
As the need for immigrant detention facilities declines, ICE should quickly release non-citizen
detainees who pose no threat to the community and radically shrink the civil detainee population
at BTC and similar detention facilities -- if not close such detention centers altogether.
Prosecutorial Discretion: We need fewer detention beds and deportations. Non-citizens who are
not a priority pursuant to ICE’s prosecutorial discretion directives should not be detained in the
first place. 220 If detained, such non-citizens should be quickly released. In other cases, so called
“alternatives to detention” would be preferable and much cheaper for taxpayers. 221 Whether
requested by detainees or their attorneys, ensure ICE officers follow up on prosecutorial
discretion requests in a timely and fair manner. Also ensure that officers proactively identify
potential prosecutorial discretion candidates who have no attorney.
Enforcement and Detainers: DHS should cancel all agency programs requiring local law
enforcement cooperation, including ICE’s 287(g) agreements and the Secure Communities
program. Stop Secure Communities from issuing detainers to non-citizens who pose no threat to
the community.
Enforceable ICE Standards: Make ICE standards legally enforceable in all contracted
facilities, including BTC, by promulgating regulations. DHS contracts should include provisions
mandating detention facilities to comply with ICE 2011 Performance-Based National Detention
Standards (PBNDS). The contracts also should include provisions for ICE to stop payment or
break the contract for non-compliance with the PBNDS and for egregious detainee abuses.
Independent Monitors: ICE should establish truly independent monitors to hold accountable
the private contractors and local governments that run immigration detention facilities. Facilities
that ignore egregious detainee abuse, medical mistreatment, or violations of standards -- such as
the abuses documented in Detention Watch Network’s Expose & Close reports -- should be
closed. 222
Cut ICE Detention Funding: Congress should radically cut funding for ICE Custody
Operations and reduce the number of funded detention beds. Funding should be shifted to
community-based supervision programs for non-citizens in immigration proceedings and to legal
service providers who help non-citizens who need representation but lack the income to hire an
attorney.
Repeal Counter-Productive Law: Congress should repeal the noxious provisions of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), the Antiterrorism and
Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the USA Patriot Act. Those provisions radically
expanded categories of non-citizens who could be deported; mandated retroactive punishment;

pg. 57

swelled the number of non-citizens subject to mandatory detention; practically eliminated
judicial review for certain non-citizens eligible for deportation; and increased the government’s
administrative authority and discretion to deport groups of non-citizens. 223 These policies have
widely contributed to skyrocketing numbers of ICE detainees, deportations and broken families
and should be eliminated.
End the Detention Quota: DHS insists it must fill every detention bed funded by Congress,
which it currently has calculated as 33,300 beds per day. Congress should clarify that the number
of beds is a maximum, not a minimum.
Cut Ties With the Private Prison Industry: The federal government should ban the use of
private contractors for incarcerating immigrants. Currently, about half of ICE detention beds are
managed by private companies. The federal prison beds reserved for immigrants serving certain
crimes, (including illegal entry and reentry) are all managed privately. This provides an incentive
for the private prisons industry to lobby for laws and policies that increase the number of
immigrants incarcerated.
In the absence of a ban, private prisons should be subjected to Freedom of Information Act laws.
Contacts with private prisons must include strict accountability and oversight mechanisms with
contract termination as a clear consequence of violation. Contracts with private prisons can only be
approved after independent cost comparison assessments.
PREA Regulations: DHS should promptly and fully implement Prison Rape Elimination Act
standards in all immigration detention facilities, including BTC, as soon as they are finalized.
Fear of Return: DHS should proactively ensure that arriving immigrants who express a fear of
returning to their home country are promptly referred to USCIS for credible fear or reasonable
fear interviews. In no case should such detainees be deported before such interviews are
conducted.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Officer Training: DHS should ensure that officers treat detainees in a civil manner. ICE should
seriously investigate detainee complaints and should review detention orientation and other
materials to guarantee that they are not culturally offensive. To combat the culture of
indifference too often tolerated in ICE detention facilities, provide mandatory training on civil
treatment and cultural sensitivity to ICE officers as well as contracted officers, including those at
BTC.
Medical Care: ICE should provide all detainees with timely access to quality healthcare. It
should also prioritize the release of those with ongoing medical or mental-health issues. Medical
care should include on-site mental-health services such as screening and treatment for depression
in each detainee’s preferred language as well as on-site counseling and stress-management
classes. Detainees should be provided translators who accurately explain their medical diagnosis,
how to take prescribed medications and potential risks, and answer any questions. Detainees with
urgent, painful, or life-threatening conditions who need off-site care should be transported in an
ambulance without shackles or handcuffs.

pg. 58

Detainee Abuse: ICE should seriously investigate all allegations of detainee abuse and refer the
case to appropriate law enforcement agencies. ICE should also provide translators and offer
trauma counseling for detainee victims and institute a no-tolerance policy banning sexual abuse,
harassment and other forms of bullying. Abusive BTC and GEO officers should be fired or
transferred to jobs that have no authority over detainees.
Detainee Screening: ICE should review the process by which detainees are screened to ensure
that all detainees fall within the criteria for placement in a minimum secure facility such as BTC.
Ensure that the protocol for minimum secure facilities carefully screens out violent detainees,
including gang members.
Stipulated Orders: EOIR should order immigration courts to require in-person, individualized
hearings to determine whether noncitizens understand the consequences of signing a stipulated
removal order. EOIR and ICE should also institute a 72 hour waiting period from the time a
detainee signs a stipulated order to when a judge considers whether to approve it. ICE should
give notice of the 72 hour period and provide the detainee with a list of pro bono and low-cost
legal services providers before obtaining the detainees’ signature.
Immigration Court: Given BTC’s large volume of detainees, EOIR (the U.S. Department of
Justice agency that oversees the immigration court system) should add one or two additional
judges to BTC’s Immigration Court in order to handle the heavy caseload. All the judges should
be fair, impartial and competent.
Access to Legal Counsel: Immigration law and proceedings are among the most complicated,
yet 84 percent of immigration detainees lack legal representation. 224 Further, few detainees are
prepared to adequately represent themselves, even when they have a good case for obtaining
legal status. Given the lack of legal representation, the federal government should provide funds
for attorneys to provide legal services at no cost to immigration detainees who cannot afford
them. ICE should also provide sufficient confidential attorney-client meeting rooms based on the
population and demand in each detention facility.

pg. 59

Acronyms
ACLU

American Civil Liberties Union

AFOD

Assistant Field Office Director

AI Justice

Americans for Immigrant Justice

AILA

American Immigration Lawyers Association

BIA

Board of Immigration Appeals

BTC

Broward Transitional Center

CAT

Convention against Torture

CBP

Customs and Border Patrol

CRCL

Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

DACA

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

DHS

Department of Homeland Security

DREAM

Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors

EOIR

Executive Office for Immigration Review

FIAC

Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center

GED

General Educational Development tests

HSI

Homeland Security Investigations

ICE

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

IJ

Immigration Judge

INS

Immigration and Naturalization Service

JROTC

Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps

KYR

Know Your Rights

MDC

Miami Dade College

OCC

Office of Chief Counsel

PBNDS

ICE 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards

pg. 60

PD

Prosecutorial Discretion

PREA

Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003

PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

SDCF

San Diego Correctional Facility

TPS

Temporary Protected Status

TRC

Trauma Resolution Center

USCIS

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, a DHS Agency

pg. 61

1

AI Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little, Hearing on Ending Racial Profiling in America. U.S. Senate
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights. April 17, 2012; AI Justice Executive Director
Cheryl Little, Holiday on ICE: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s New Immigration Detention Standards.
U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. March 28, 2012.
“M.C.,” A Brutal Rape. U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and
Enforcement. March 26, 2012. http://aijustice.org/statements-to-congress-marchapril-2012/. AI Justice Policy
Director Susana Barciela, Dehumanizing Detention. Statement for Holiday on ICE hearing, U.S. House Committee
on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement. March 26, 2012.
http://www.aijustice.org/docs/MiguelBonilla-MedicalCase-AIJustice.pdf.
2
Written Testimony of Michelle Ortiz, Director of Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center’s LUCHA Project for the
American Bar Association Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. May 20, 2011.
http://www.aijustice.org/docs/ABA-testimony-of-michelle-ortiz.pdf
3
Cheryl Little, Rubio proposal offers way toward Dream Act. The Miami Herald. April 16, 2012.
http://www.aijustice.org/docs/rubio-proposal-offers-way-toward-DREAM-act.pdf.
4
AI Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little, Summary Regarding Executive Branch Authority
to Grant DREAMers Temporary Relief. May 18, 2012. http://aijustice.org/docs/Summary-Executive-BranchAuthority.pdf
5
AI Justice Detention Supervising Attorney Romy Lerner, Expose & Close Baker County Jail, Florida.
http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/detentionwatchnetwork.org/files/ExposeClose/Expose-Baker1113.pdf
6
National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. Dec. 13, 2000. On file at AI Justice.
http://nicic.gov/PREACommission.
7
AI Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little, Detention and Removal: Immigration Detainee Medical Care. Written
Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International
Law. Committee on the Judiciary. Oct. 4, 2007. http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Little071004.pdf.
House of Representatives http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Little071004.pdf
8
Susana Barciela, Deborah Lee, Michelle Abaraca and Cheryl Little. After the Earthquake – Haitian Children Seeking
Safety in the United States. Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. Dec. 7, 2011. http://www.aijustice.org/docs/afterthe-earthquake-haitian-children-intheus-FIACreport.pdf.
9
Cheryl Little and Susana Barciela, Unleash the DREAM: End the Colossal Waste of Young Immigrant Talent. Florida
Immigrant Advocacy Center. April 2010. http://www.aijustice.org/docs/dreamactreport2.pdf.
10
Cheryl Little, Susana Barciela, Charu Newhouse al-Sahli, Dying for Decent Care: Bad Medicine in Immigration
Custody. Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. Feb. 2009.
http://www.aijustice.org/docs/reports/DyingForDecentCare.pdf.
11
Cheryl Little and Kathie Klarreich, Securing our Borders: Post 9/11 Scapegoating of Immigrants. Florida
Immigrant Advocacy Center. April 2005. http://www.aijustice.org/docs/reports/securing-borders-post911scapegoating-of-immigrants.pdf
12
Cheryl Little and Charu Newhouse al-Sahli, Haitian Refugees: A People in Search of Hope. Florida Immigrant
Advocacy Center. May 1, 2004.
http://www.aijustice.org/docs/reports/HaitianRefugeesAPeopleinSearchofHope.pdf
13
Cheryl Little and Charu Newhouse al-Sahli, INS Detainees in Florida: A Double Standard of Treatment. Dec. 2001.
http://www.aijustice.org/docs/reports/INSDetaineesInFlorida.pdf.
14
Cries for Help: Medical Care at Krome Service Processing Center and in Florida’s County Jails. Florida Immigrant
Advocacy Center. December 1999. http://www.aijustice.org/docs/reports/CriesForHelp.pdf.
15
Cheryl Little and Joan Friedland, Florida County Jails: INS’s Secret Detention World. Florida Immigrant Advocacy
Center. November 1997. http://www.aijustice.org/docs/reports/FloridaCountyJailReport.pdf.
16
Cheryl Little and Susana Barciela, U.S. Immigration Detention Reforms. LexisNexis Emerging Issues Analysis; 2009
Emerging Issues 4739. Dec. 2010. http://fiacfla.org/reports/list-building-guide01.pdf.

pg. 62

17

Nina Bernstein, Ideas for Immigrant Detention Include Converting Hotels and Building Models. The New York
Times. Oct. 5, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/us/politics/06detain.html; Detention Reform
Accomplishments. ICE. Oct. 2009. http://www.ice.gov/detention-reform/detention-reform.htm.
18
Ibid
19
Alicia A. Caldwell, AP Exculusive: DHS Released over 2,000 Immigrants. Associated Press. March 1, 2013.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/documents-us-released-more-2000-immigrants
20
Kirk Semple, Mass Release of Immigrants Is Tied to Impending Cuts. The New York Times. Feb. 26, 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/us/immigrants-released-ahead-of-automatic-budgetcuts.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y&_r=0
21
The Math of Immigration Detention: Runaway Costs for Immigration Detention Do Not Add Up to Sensible
Policies. National Immigration Forum, Washington D.C., Aug. 2012.
http://immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/MathofImmigrationDetention.pdf
22
See http://www.geogroup.com/
23
Megan O’Matz, Immigrants with no Criminal History get Lengthy Stays at Private South Florida Facility. Jan. 5,
2013. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-01-05/news/fl-private-immigration-jail-20130105_1_illegalimmigrants-deutch-human-rights-abuses
24
Declaration of Detainee. May 16, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
25
Interview of AI Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little by Josh Rushing, Punishment and Profits: Immigration
Detention. Al Jazeera. April 17, 2012.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/faultlines/2012/04/201241081117980874.html
26
Megan O’Matz, Immigrants with no Criminal History get Lengthy Stays at Private South Florida Facility. Jan. 5,
2013. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-01-05/news/fl-private-immigration-jail-20130105_1_illegalimmigrants-deutch-human-rights-abuses
27
Ibid
28
Interview of AI Justice Client “Alejandra,” (a pseudonym) by Josh Rushing, Punishment and Profits: Immigration
Detention. Al Jazeera. April 17, 2012.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/faultlines/2012/04/201241081117980874.html
29
Ibid
30
Declaration of Detainee. May 16, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
31
Franco Torres, Equal Justice Works Fellowship Reporting Forms. Oct. 2011-Oct. 2012. On file at AI Justice.
32
Joseph Anderson and Losmin Jimenez, AI Justice Takes Action Against Border Patrol for Abusing Women. AI
Justice News Release. March 13, 2013. http://aijustice.org/ai-justice-takes-action-against-border-patrol-forabusing-immigrant-women/. Alan Gomez, Lawsuits allege abuse by border patrol agents. USA Today. March 13,
2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/13/immigrants-sue-border-patrol/1982681/
33
Another Low-Priority Deportation: Norma Left in Pool of Blood! Dream Activist petition.
http://action.dreamactivist.org/florida/norma.
34
Chris Sweeney, Two Activists Infiltrate a Facility Where Illegal Immigrants Are Held. Broward/Palm Beach New
Times. Oct. 25, 2012 http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2012-10-25/news/two-activists-infiltrate-browardtransitional-center-where-illegal-immigrants-are-held/1/; Megan O’Matz, Immigrants with no Criminal History get
Lengthy Stays at Private South Florida Facility. Sun Sentinel. Jan. 5, 2013. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-0105/news/fl-private-immigration-jail-20130105_1_illegal-immigrants-deutch-human-rights-abuses.
35
Letter from 26 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, organized by U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, to ICE Director
John Morton. Sept. 13, 2012; Letter from U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch to to ICE Director John Morton. Jan. 3, 2013; Letter
from ICE Assistant Director for Congressional Relations to U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch. Jan. 9. 2013. On file at AI Justice.
36
Letter from U.S. Rep. Zoe Logfren to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. Sept. 14, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
37
The Math of Immigration Detention: Runaway Costs for Immigration Detention Do Not Add Up to Sensible
Policies. National Immigration Forum, Washington D.C., Aug. 2012.
http://immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/MathofImmigrationDetention.pdf.
38
Ibid
39
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was the precursor of two DHS agencies, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

pg. 63

40

See http://www.geogroup.com/
Jeff Ostrowski, Dogged by complaints, prison operator GEO Group keeps growing. The Palm Beach Post. Aug. 25,
2012. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/dogged-by-complaints-prison-operator-geo-groupkee/nRHZ8/; Also see: John Aguilar, Boulder County jury finds high-level prison exec engaged in 'outrageous
conduct.' Daily Camera, Boulder, Colorado. Aug. 11, 2012.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_21291919/boulder-county-jury-finds-high-level-prison-exec; and
Chris Kirkham, Private Prisons: Immigration Convictions In Record Numbers Fueling Corporate Profits. The
Huffington Post. Sept. 27, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/private-prisonsimmigration_n_1917636.html.
42
Brenda Medina, FAU stadium strikes deal with prison firm. The Miami Herald. Feb. 20, 2013.
www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/20/3243610/fau-stadium-strikes-dealwith.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
43
Sofia Santana, Haitian detainees removed from jail. The Miami Herald. Aug. 27, 2002. On file at AI Justice.
44
Women’s Refugee Commission was then known as Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children.
45
Letter from FIAC [now AI Justice] Executive Director Cheryl Little and Women’s Commission for Refugee Women
and Children Director of External Relations Wendy Young to DHS Civil Rights and Civil Liberty Officer Daniel W.
Sutherland. June 18, 2004. On file at AI Justice.
46
Ibid
47
Ibid
48
Ibid
49
Letter from Jonathan Dobre, GEO-BTC Facility Administrator, to AI Justice Attorney Jack Wallace. Sept. 9, 2005.
50
Vote of No Confidence in ICE Director and ICE ODPP Assistant Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO) by 7000 ICE officers and Employees, June 25, 2010.
http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=32801
51
Julia Preston, Agents’ Union Stalls Training on Deportation Rules. The New York Times. Jan. 7, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/us/illegal-immigrants-who-commit-crimes-focus-ofdeportation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
52
The memos are Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities of
the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/securecommunities/pdf/prosecutorial-discretion-memo.pdf and Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and
Plaintiffs at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/secure-communities/pdf/domestic-violence.pdf.
53
Ibid.
54
Immigration Policy Center, Prosecutorial Discretion: a Statistical Assessment. June 11, 2012.
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/prosecutorial-discretion-statistical-analysis
55
Letter from AI Justice Attorneys Sara Van Hofwegen and Franco Torres to Assistant Field Office Director Bradley.
April 23, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
56
AI Justice internal communication. May 2011. On file at AI Justice.
57
Minutes. Joint Liaison Meeting in South Florida. Attended by American Immigration Lawyers Association
members, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations managers, ICE Chief Counsel and staff; and the Assistant Chief
Immigration Judge and other Krome Court staff from the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Nov. 7, 2012.
On file at AI Justice.
58
Detainees at the Broward Transitional Center. Letter from AI Justice Attorney Franco Torres to ICE Director John
Morton. Oct. 19, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
59
Ibid
60
Letter from U.S. Rep. Zoe Logfren to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. Sept. 14, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
61
A pseudonym
62
Declaration of “Miriam.” June 12, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
63
Continued Presence. Department of Homeland Security. http://www.dhs.gov/continued-presence
64
A pseudonym
65
Declaration of “Beatriz.” June 12, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
41

pg. 64

66

Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/securecommunities/pdf/domestic-violence.pdf.
67
Immediate Release Request. Letter from AI Justice to Detention and Deportation Officer Scrocca. April 3, 2012.
On file at AI Justice.
68
Letter from AI Justice Attorney Sara Van Hofwegen to Assistant Field Office Director Bradley. April 23, 2012. On
file at AI Justice.
69
A pseudonym
70
Letters of Support from 13 individuals. On file at AI Justice
71
Declaration of Gabriela. On file at AI Justice.
72
Immediate Release Request. Letter from Attorney Sara Van Hofwegen to Detention and Deportation Officer
Richards. March 6, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
73
A pseudonym
74
Declaration of “Barbara.” On file at AI Justice
75
A pseudonym
76
Letter from AI Justice Attorneys Sara Van Hofwegen and Franco Torres to Assistant Field Office Director Bradley.
April 23, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
77
A pseudonym
78
Immediate Release Request; Letter from AI Justice Attorney Sara Van Hofwegen to Deportation Officer Richards.
March 19, 2012; Letter from AI Justice Attorneys Sara Van Hofwegen and Franco Torres to Assistant Field Office
Director Bradley. April 23, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
79
U Visa Law Enforcement Certification Resource Guide. Department of Homeland Security. http://www.dhs.gov/U
Visa-law-enforcement-certification-resource-guide#0.
80
Request For Immediate Release of Oscar Ortiz-Ramos. Letter from AI Justice Attorney Franco Torres to
Deportation Officer Keesha Palmer. Feb. 28, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
81
Voluntary Departure. DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Resources.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9e258fa2993
5f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=b328194d3e88d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD
82
A pseudonym
83
A pseudonym
84
A pseudonym
85
CBP Profiles. AI Justice BTC project. September to November 2010. On file at AI Justice.
86
Individuals who express fear persecution or torture generally are given “credible fear” interview by a USCIS
officer. Individuals who previously have been deported are given “reasonable fear” interviews, which require a
higher standard of proof.
87
List of examples throughout the United States of detainees expressing a fear of return and not given crediblefear interviews before being deported. September 2012. On file at AI Justice.
88
ICE Director John Morton, Parole of Arriving Aliens Found to Have a Credible Fear of Persecution or Torture. U.S.
ICE. Dec, 8, 2009. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/dro/pdf/11002.1-hdparole_of_arriving_aliens_found_credible_fear.pdf.
89
DHS may expedite the removal of arriving aliens. 8 C.F.R. § 235.3(b)(1)(i). However, if an immigrant expresses a
fear of return to his or her country, DHS “shall not proceed further with removal of the alien until the alien has
been referred for an interview by an asylum officer.” 8 C.F.R. § 235.3(b)(4). DHS may only remove such an
individual after the asylum officer finds that the immigrant does not possess a credible fear of return and after the
immigrant is provided the opportunity for review of the asylum officer’s credible fear determination by an
immigration judge. Id.; 8 C.F.R. § 208.30. Similarly, an immigrant subject to reinstatement of removal is entitled to
a reasonable fear interview if the immigrant expresses fear of returning to his or her country of origin. 8 C.F.R. §
241.8(e).
90
A pseudonym
91
AI Justice letter to Asylum Office. May 30, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
92
A pseudonym
93
Mercedes Statement. AI Justice letter to Asylum Office. May 30, 2012. On file at AI Justice.

pg. 65

94

Joseph Anderson and Losmin Jimenez, AI Justice Takes Action Against Border Patrol for Abusing Women. AI
Justice News Release. March 13, 2013. http://aijustice.org/ai-justice-takes-action-against-border-patrol-forabusing-immigrant-women/; Alan Gomez, Lawsuits allege abuse by border patrol agents. USA Today. March 13,
2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/13/immigrants-sue-border-patrol/1982681/
95
Mercedes Statement. AI Justice letter to Asylum Office. May 30, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
96
Ibid
97
Ibid
98
AI Justice Attorney Sara Van Hofwegan notes on phone calls with BTC Assistant Field Office Director Bradley.
April 30, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
99
Mercedes Statement. AI Justice letter to Asylum Office. May 30, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
100
Joseph Anderson and Losmin Jimenez, AI Justice Takes Action Against Border Patrol for Abusing Women. AI
Justice News Release. March 13, 2013. http://aijustice.org/ai-justice-takes-action-against-border-patrol-forabusing-immigrant-women/; Alan Gomez, Lawsuits allege abuse by border patrol agents. USA Today. March 13,
2013. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/13/immigrants-sue-border-patrol/1982681/
101
A pseudonym
102
A pseudonym
103
A pseudonym
104
Immediate Release Request. Letter from Franco Torres, AI Justice Equal Justice Fellow to ICE Supervisory
Detention and Deportation Officer Lee-Fat at BTC. March 1, 2012; Letter from AI Justice Attorneys Sara Van
Hofwegen and Franco Torres to Assistant Field Office Director Bradley. April 23, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
105
Letter to BTC Supervisory Detention and Deportation Officer Lee-Fatt, ICE, from AI Justice Attorney Franco
Torres. IMMEDIATE RELEASE REQUEST. March 1, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
106
Esteban’s documents on file at AI Justice.
107
ICE Director John Morton, Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement
Priorities of the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens. Memo from ICE Chief to all Field
Office Directors, Special Agents in Charge, All Chief Counsel. June 17, 2011. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/securecommunities/pdf/prosecutorial-discretion-memo.pdf;.
108
Jeanne Batalova and Michelle Mittelstadt, Relief from Deportation: Demographic Profile
of the DREAMers Potentially Eligible under the Deferred Action Policy. Migration Policy Institute. August 2012.
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/FS24_deferredaction.pdf
109
A pseudonym
110
Sara socuments on file at AI Justice
111
Letter from Marc Moore, ICE Field Office Director, Miami Field Office; to Maria Rodriguez, Executive Director
Florida Immigrant Coalition. Oct. 21, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
112
Another DREAMer about to be deported Obama Breaks Another Promise!, email blast from the Florida
Immigrant Coalition. Oct 24, 2011; Another DREAM Act Student in Deportation, Presente.Org online petition
http://act.presente.org/sign/shamir_end/?akid=472.322909.I6AfRK&rd=1&t=3; Tell Rick Palacios: Obama doesn't
stand a chance in Colorado, email blast from United We Dream, Oct. 25, 2011, linking to Huffington Post article on
Shamir Ali. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/24/dream-act-eligible-man-deportation_n_1029201.html;
Julia Preston, Deportations Under New U.S. Policy Are Inconsistent. New York Times. Nov. 12, 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/us/politics/president-obamas-policy-on-deportation-is-unevenlyapplied.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=julia%20preston&st=cse.
113
Upholding the Values of an Immigrant Nation, AI Justice Annual Dinner Program. March 15, 2012. P. 13. On file
at AI Justice.
114
Pseudonym
115
Azucena Statement. Feb. 11, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
116
President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President in State of Union Address. United States Capitol,
Washington, D.C. Jan. 25, 2011. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-presidentstate-union-address.
117
Alfonso Chardy, Noncriminal, undocumented aliens aren't being left alone, activists complain. The Miami
Herald. June 20, 2010. On file at AI Justice.

pg. 66

118

Vigil Held At Broward Detention Center For Three Detained Young People. Press Release. Florida Immigrant
Coalition, Miami, Florida. Feb. 22, 2008. http://www.totalimmigrationlaw.com/immigration-rallies.aspx
119
Backgrounder: The Math of Immigration Detention. National Immigration Forum, Washington, D.C. July 7, 2009.
http://www.immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/MathofImmigrationDetention.pdf.
120
Jacqueline Charles and Jennifer Maloney, Judge denies Haitians’ asylum. The Miami Herald. Dec. 17, 2002;
Jacqueline Charles, For most Haitians, asylum is out of reach. The Miami Herald. Dec. 22, 2002; Unequal In Asylum,
Too. Miami Herald editorial. Dec. 23, 2002. On file at AI Justice.
121
Nina Bernstein, Rushed From Haiti, Then Jailed for Lacking Visas. The New York Times. March 31, 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/us/01detain.html?pagewanted=all.
122
Secretary Napolitano Announces the Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti Beneficiaries. News
Release, Department of Homeland Security. May 17, 2011. http://www.dhs.gov/news/2011/05/17/secretarynapolitano-announces-extension-temporary-protected-status-haiti
123
AI Justice Attorney Franco Torres, internal communication. Dec. 13, 2012
124
Judge Rex J. Ford report. FY 2007 –2012, Miami-Krome Immigration Court. TRAC Immigration, Syracuse
University, NY. Jan. 15, 2013. http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/00115KRO/index.html
125
Letter from AI Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little and AI Justice Attorney Franco Torres, Letter in support of
petition filed by Haitians requesting their release from the Broward Transitional Center, Pompano Beach, Florida,
based on the policy to not repatriate post-earthquake Haitians who have no criminal histories; to ICE Director John
Morton. Oct. 12, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
126
Petition from “Haitian Immigrant Group to Department of Homeland Security. Signed by 24 Haitian detainees.
Oct. 08, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
127
Ibid
128
Letter from Gary Mead, ICE Executive Associate Director Enforcement and Removal Operations. to AI Justice
Executive Director Cheryl little. Nov 28, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
129
AI Justice Detention Intake Form. Feb. 8, 2013.
130
A pseudonym
131
Detainees at the Broward Transitional Center. Letter from AI Justice Attorney Franco Torres to ICE Chief John
Morton. October 19, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
132
Judge Rex J. Ford report. FY 2007 –2012, Miami-Krome Immigration Court. TRAC Immigration, Syracuse
University, NY. Jan. 15, 2013. http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/00115KRO/index.html
133
Woods v Morton Settlement Agreement. ACLU. Dec. 16, 2010. http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/woods-vmorton-settlement-agreement .
134
A few years ago, attorneys had to wait until the BTC ICE Officer signed off on the request before obtaining
detainee medical records. As a result, it took weeks, sometimes longer, to get access to urgently needed medical
files. AI Justice complained to GEO staff and ICE about this policy which was then rectified.
135
Letter from FIAC [now AI Justice] Executive Director Cheryl Little and Women’s Commission for Refugee Women
and Children Director of External Relations Wendy Young to DHS Civil Rights and Civil Liberty Officer Daniel W.
Sutherland. June 18, 2004. On file at AI Justice.
136
Jennifer Kay, Brazilian migrants sue ICE over mental health care, Associated Press, March 5. 2009. Posted at
http://www.privateci.org/rap_geo.html.
137
A pseudonym
138
John Morton, Civil Immigration Enforcement: Priorities for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens.
Memo from ICE Chief to All ICE Employees. March 2, 2011.
http://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2011/110302washingtondc.pdf
139
Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/securecommunities/pdf/domestic-violence.pdf.
140
Medical records of Angel Yat Raymundo. On file at AI Justice.
141
Megan O’Matz, Immigrants with no Criminal History get Lengthy Stays at Private South Florida Facility. Jan. 5,
2013. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-01-05/news/fl-private-immigration-jail-20130105_1_illegalimmigrants-deutch-human-rights-abuses

pg. 67

142

Diverticulitis: Topic Overview, WebMD. July, 26, 2010. http://www.webmd.com/digestivedisorders/tc/diverticulitis-topic-overview
143
Email from David Bradley, Assistant Field Office Director for BTC to Franco Torres, AI Justice attorney, FW:
Medical Exam & Treatment Issues - Martin Hernandez. June 12, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
144
Ibid
145
A pseudonym
146
Detained 64 days at $166 per day; cost is based on The Math of Immigration Detention: Runaway Costs for
Immigration Detention Do Not Add Up to Sensible Policies. National Immigration Forum, Washington D.C., Aug.
2011. http://immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/MathofImmigrationDetention.pdf
147
BTC Intern Project, AI Justice. Sept.--Nov. 2010. On file at AI Justice.
148
Jeff Ostrowski, Dogged by complaints, prison operator GEO Group keeps growing. The Palm Beach Post. Aug.
25, 2012. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/dogged-by-complaints-prison-operator-geo-groupkee/nRHZ8/
149
Catherine Rentz, New documents detail sex abuse of detained immigrants. American University School of
Communication’s Investigative Reporting Workshop and PBS FRONTLINE. Oct. 19, 2011.
http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/immigration-detention/story/new-documents-detailsex-abuse-detained-immigrants/; Sexual Abuse in Immigration Detention. ACLU. Oct. 19, 2011.
http://www.aclu.org/sexual-abuse-immigration-detention
150
A pseudonym
151
Ibid
152
Request for Immediate Release of “Eliseo.” Letter to Officer Keesha Palmer from AI Justice Attorney Franco
Torres. March 9, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
153
Ibid
154
Ibid
155
2011 Ops. Manual ICE PBNDS Pt. 2.11 (Section V.H.) page 136. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detentionstandards/2011/sexual_abuse_and_assault_prevention_and_intervention.pdf
156
Declaration of “Eliseo.” January 18, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
157
2011 Ops. Manual ICE PBNDS Pt. 2.11 (Section V.K.) page 138. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detentionstandards/2011/sexual_abuse_and_assault_prevention_and_intervention.pdf
158
Request for Immediate Parole of “Eliseo.” Letter to Marc J. Moore, Field Office Director, from AI Justice Attorney
Franco Torres. Dec. 15, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
159
About the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Homeland Security. http://www.dhs.gov/about-office-civilrights-and-civil-liberties.
160
Telephone conversation between AI Justice Attorney Franco Torres and Tom Sharp of the DHS Office of Civil
Rights and Civil Liberties. March 28, 2012.
161
Re Complaint, “Eliseo.” Letter to AI Justice Attorney Franco Torres from DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties, Compliance Branch Director Jeffery Blumberg. Jan. 18, 2013. On file at AI Justice.
162
A pseudonym
163
Declaration of “Jorge.” Nov. 29, 2012; Trauma-Informed Assessment of “Jorge.” Nov. 30, 2012. On file at AI
Justice.
164
2011 Ops. Manual ICE PBNDS Pt. 2.2 (Section V.C.) page 54. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detentionstandards/2011/classification_system.pdf
165
Declaration of “Jorge.” Nov. 29, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
166
2011 Ops. Manual ICE PBNDS Pt. 2.11 (Section V.F.) page 135. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detentionstandards/2011/sexual_abuse_and_assault_prevention_and_intervention.pdf.
167
Trauma-Informed Assessment of “Jorge.” Nov. 30, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
168
A pseudonym
169
Declaration of “Enrique.” Sept. 14, 2012. On file at AI Justice
170
Request for Release, Stay of Removal, and Deferred Action. Letter to Marc Moore, Field Office Director, from AI
Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little. Oct 19, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
171
Notes of an interview with “Enrique.” Sept. 14, 2012. On file at AI Justice.

pg. 68

172

Fact Sheet: Mental Health Consequences of Sexual Violence in Detention. Just Detention International.
February 2009 (detailing the extreme challenges victims who experience sexual abuse in detention face).
http://www.justdetention.org/en/factsheets/JD_Fact_Sheet_Mental_Health_vC.pdf.
173
Ibid
174
Request for Release, Stay of Removal, and Deferred Action. Letter to Marc Moore, Field Office Director from AI
Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little. Oct 19, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
175
Ibid p. 3
176
2011 Ops. Manual PBNDS Pt. 2.11 (Section V.H.) page 136. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detentionstandards/2011/sexual_abuse_and_assault_prevention_and_intervention.pdf.
177
Declaration of “Enrique.” Sept. 14, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
178
Request for Release, Stay of Removal, and Deferred Action. Letter to Marc Moore, Field Office Director from AI
Justice Executive Director Cheryl Little. Oct 19, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
179
See Federal Bureau of Investigation, The MS-13 Threat: A National Assessment (January 14, 2008)(overview of
the MS-13 gang), available at http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/january/ms13_011408
180
See 2011 Ops. Manual ICE PBNDS Pt. 2.2 (Appendix 2.2.B) page 74. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detentionstandards/2011/pbnds2011.pdf
181
Internal Email from AI Justice Attorney Sara Van Hofwegen. March 20, 2011.
182
Ibid
183
FIAC changed its name to Americans for Immigrant Justice in 2011.
184
FIAC [now AI Justice] internal memo, Broward County Work Center. Aug. 15, 2002. On file at AI Justice.
185
Letter from FIAC [now AI Justice] Managing Attorney Mary Gundrum, Attorney Access at BTC; to ICE Officer Kim
Boulia. Feb 5, 2003. Letter from FIAC [now AI Justice] Managing Attorney Mary Gundrum, Broward Transitional
Center; to ICE Officer Kim Boulia. March 12, 2003. On file at AI Justice.
186
FIAC [now AI Justice] internal memo, Broward – the Latest. Feb 19, 2004. On file at AI Justice.
187
Memo from BTC Asst. Facility Administrator Eileen Kenney, RE Attorney Visit Today; to AI Justice Attorney Tal
Winer. June 4, 2007. On file at AI Justice.
188
R
Cheryl Little and Susana Barciela, U.S. Immigration Detention Reforms. LexisNexis Emerging Issues 4739. Dec.
2009. http://fiacfla.org/reports/list-building-guide01.pdf
189
Letter from FIAC [now AI Justice] Executive Director Cheryl Little, and FIAC [now AI Justice] Detention
Supervising Attorney Romy Lermer, Deficiencies at BTC Involving Legal Access; to GEO Facility Administrator Jon
Dobre and ICE Miami Field Office Director Marc Moore. Oct. 28, 2010. On file at AI Justice.
190
Ibid
191
Ibid
192
Jailed Without Justice: Immigration Detention in the USA. Amnesty International. P 30.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/JailedWithoutJustice.pdf
193
Letter to Alan Bersin, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DHS, from AI Justice and the ACLU
of Florida. Nov. 16, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
194
Enforcement and Detention Priorities. Letter from Cheryl Little, FIAC [now AI Justice] Executive Director to John
Morton, ICE Chief. Dec. 14, 2010. On file at AI Justice.
195
Letter from AI Justice Attorneys Sara Van Hofwegen and Franco Torres to Assistant Field Office Director Bradley.
April 23, 2012. On file at AI Justice.
196
A pseudonym
197
Toluse Olorunnipa, Brothers Facing Deportation Freed From Detention Center. The Miami Herald. Nov. 21,
2009. On file at AI Justice
198
Megan O'Matz and John Maines, Asylum Judge Known as Tough. Sun Sentinel. March 7, 2013. http://www.sunsentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-judge-immigration-jail-20130105,0,4290982.story
199
Judge Rex J. Ford report. FY 2007 –2012, Miami-Krome Immigration Court. TRAC Immigration, Syracuse
University, NY. Jan. 15, 2013. http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/00115KRO/index.html
200
Judge Rex J. Ford report. FY 2000–2005, Miami-Krome Immigration Court. TRAC Immigration, Syracuse
University, NY. http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judge2006/115/index.html

pg. 69

201

Judge Denise Slavin report. FY 2000–2005, Miami-Krome Immigration Court. TRAC Immigration, Syracuse
University, NY. http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judge2006/128/index.html
202
Jacqueline Charles and Jennifer Maloney, Judge denies Haitians’ asylum. The Miami Herald. Dec. 17, 2002;
Jacqueline Charles, For most Haitians, asylum is out of reach. The Miami Herald. Dec. 22, 2002; Unequal In Asylum,
Too. Miami Herald editorial. Dec. 23, 2002. On file at AI Justice
203
Fax to the Executive Office for Immigration Review from the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center, now AI
Justice, Executive Director Cheryl Little. Dec. 2, 2002. Box 21, folder "EOIR, Haitian boat refugee crisis (2002),"
Americans For Immigrant Justice Records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
204
Ibid
205
Jennifer Lee Koh, Jayashri Srikantiah, and Karen C. Tumlin, Deportation Without Due Process. Western
State University College, Stanford Law School, and National Immigration Law Center. Sept. 2011. P 1, 29.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/irc/Deportation_Without_Due_Process_2011.pdf
206
Ibid, P. 12.
207
Ibid, P. 13.
208
Chris Sweeney, Land Of The Free. Broward New Times. Oct. 25, 2012.
http://digitalissue.browardpalmbeach.com/article/Land+Of+The+Free/1215471/131328/article.html
209
Pseudonym
210
I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-589.pdf
211
Hans Danelius, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Dec. 10, 1984. http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/catcidtp/catcidtp.html
212
Alicia A. Caldwell, AP Exculusive: DHS Released over 2,000 Immigrants. Associated Press. March 1, 2013.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/documents-us-released-more-2000-immigrants
213
Pseudonym
214
Letter to Deportation Officer Smith, Immediate Request for Release, from AI Justice Attorney Sara Van
Hofwegen. June 13, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
215
John Morton Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities of
the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens. Memo from ICE Chief to all Field Office
Directors, Special Agents in Charge, All Chief Counsel. June 17, 2011. http://www.ice.gov/doclib/securecommunities/pdf/prosecutorial-discretion-memo.pdf.
216
Letter to AI Justice Attorney Sara Van Hofwegen. from Marc Moore, Field Office Director, Miami, Florida.
Immediate Request for Release, June 22, 2011. On file at AI Justice.
217
Nina Bernstein, Mentally Ill and in Immigration Limbo. The New York Times. May 3, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/nyregion/04immigrant.html?pagewanted=all.
218
Ibid
219
Nina Bernstein, Judge Grants Asylum to Chinese Immigrant. The New York Times. May 17, 2010
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/judge-grants-asylum-to-chinese-immigrant/#more-174099.
220
For example: Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities of
the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/securecommunities/pdf/prosecutorial-discretion-memo.pdf and Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and
Plaintiffs at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/secure-communities/pdf/domestic-violence.pdf
221
The Math of Immigration Detention: Runaway Costs for Immigration Detention Do Not Add Up to Sensible
Policies. National Immigration Forum, Washington D.C., Aug. 2012.
http://immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/MathofImmigrationDetention.pdf
222
Expose & Close, Executive Summary. November 2012.
http://detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/detentionwatchnetwork.org/files/ExposeClose/Expose-Executive1115.pdf
223
Jacqueline Hagan, Brianna Castro, & Nestor Rodriguez, The Effects of U.S. Deportation Policies on Immigrant
Families and Communities: Cross-Border Perspectives. North Carolina Law Review. Vol.88, 2010.
http://www.nclawreview.org/documents/88/5/hagan.pdf

pg. 70

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Nina Siulc, Zhifen Cheng, Arnold Son, Olga Byrne, Improving Efficiency and Promoting Justice in the Immigration
System. Vera Institute of Justice, Center on Immigration and Justice. May 2008.
http://www.vera.org/download?file=1780/LOP%2Bevaluation_May2008_final.pdf

pg. 71