Houston Chronicle: Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants have paid $977 million in bail bonds to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the past six years — allowing them to go free until their deportation cases are decided.
The money reflects a roughly threefold increase in the number of people granted bond since 2006, enabling at least 209,163 potential deportees to avoid detention and go on with their lives as they await their legal fate, according to ICE data obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
The practice, federal authorities contend, cuts the costs of detention in potentially protracted deportation cases, though not all bail recipients abide by the detailed terms of their releases. Of the $977 million paid since 2006, the federal government has seized at least $167 million in breached bail bonds from thousands who either failed to appear for legal proceedings or voluntarily leave the country.
U.S. Rep Ted Poe, R-Humble, a long-standing immigration conservative, labeled the spike in bonds “administrative amnesty” and said the increase has pushed illegal immigrants to the streets, “some of which go on to commit further crimes.”
“The law is the law,” said Poe. “It should be enforced all of the time, not some of the time.”
Other advocates of strict enforcement accuse the Obama administration of expanding the use of bail as another way to continue “lax enforcement” to curry favor with immigrant groups, including Hispanics, in an election year.
“The statistics don’t lie. The administration lies,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates lower immigration levels. “The administration doesn’t want to increase the number of detainees, and it’s making more money out of bond defaults.”
Advocates see rip-offs
Immigrants’ rights advocates contend that illegal immigrants are being ripped off by federal authorities who arbitrarily set the bail amounts without regard to their contributions to their communities.
“The one factor that’s explicitly not considered is whether the person can pay the bond,” said Laura Lichter, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “It’s not the same if you are a day laborer than if you are a doctor. (The) bond is a significant amount of money that is part of a family’s income that is being withheld.”
ICE cites priorities
Immigration judges and agents by law must set bail amounts of at least $1,500, but have wide leeway on deciding how much more to ask. The bails of the 55,546 individuals released on bond in 2011 averaged $5,162, according to statistics from the federal agency. ICE’s cash bond account balance as of Feb. 1 was $674 million.
The dramatic expansion of bail comes at a time when immigration enforcement authorities are reducing the number of prosecutions against noncriminals.
ICE instigated 28 percent fewer deportation proceedings in the final three months of 2011, for example, than in the same period in 2010, records show.
Taking into account the approximately 11 million people living in the U.S. unlawfully, ICE is focusing on “smart, effective immigration enforcement,” the agency explained in a written statement.
“ICE also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system, including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country,” according to the statement.
Not all illegal immigrants are undocumented. Some have entered legally, then overstayed the time allowed by the government. Others have committed crimes that jeopardized their visas.
Immigration judges and ICE agents decide whether to grant bail to illegal immigrants. Generally, they qualify for bail if they have no criminal convictions, have not been previously ordered deported, and can demonstrate that they pose no flight risk or threat to public safety.
Unlike bail bonds in the criminal justice system, immigration bonds must be paid in full. Bonds are posted in cash or by surety companies, which guarantee the bond on behalf of the immigrant.
The amount of bail is based on criteria ranging from the immigrants’ ties to the U.S., including the number of years living in the country, their job history, any mortgage and tax payments, and whether they are married to or parents of an American citizen.
Not necessarily lenient
Some immigration lawyers say the spike in bonds doesn’t necessarily reflect a lenient enforcement of the law.
“ICE could be requiring bonds in cases where they previously would have released the person on their own recognizance,” said David Leopold, a prominent immigration lawyer. “That would reflect a greater level of enforcement, not a lesser one. It is also important to remember that most immigrants who have been convicted of crimes are not eligible for bond.”
Ticket to freedom?
ICE collected almost $287 million in bail bonds last year – $107 million more than in 2010, and the highest amount in six years.
By the end of 2011, the agency had returned almost $86.5 million to immigrants who had satisfied the conditions of their bonds.
Immigrants who got their money back either showed up for all court hearings in which authorities made a final decision on their case, or they had voluntarily left the country.
Illegal immigrants forfeited nearly $27.5 million in breached bonds in 2011 – $5 million more than the year before. That fact alone, critics say, demonstrates that some see bail bonds as a ticket to freedom.
“They know they’re here illegally, and they know they have no possibilities from release from removal (deportation). So there’s no reason for them to show up in court,” suggested Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies of the Center for Immigration Studies. “They’re going to take the opportunity to put off the money, and then disappear into the woodwork knowing there’s a pretty good chance they won’t be caught again.”
ICE did not comment on how the seized money is allocated. Records suggest the money is “forfeited” to the federal government.
If history holds, the federal government should seize approximately $30 million this year.
“That source of income is a mark of failure,” Vaughan said
The money reflects a roughly threefold increase in the number of people granted bond since 2006, enabling at least 209,163 potential deportees to avoid detention and go on with their lives as they await their legal fate, according to ICE data obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
The practice, federal authorities contend, cuts the costs of detention in potentially protracted deportation cases, though not all bail recipients abide by the detailed terms of their releases. Of the $977 million paid since 2006, the federal government has seized at least $167 million in breached bail bonds from thousands who either failed to appear for legal proceedings or voluntarily leave the country.
U.S. Rep Ted Poe, R-Humble, a long-standing immigration conservative, labeled the spike in bonds “administrative amnesty” and said the increase has pushed illegal immigrants to the streets, “some of which go on to commit further crimes.”
“The law is the law,” said Poe. “It should be enforced all of the time, not some of the time.”
Other advocates of strict enforcement accuse the Obama administration of expanding the use of bail as another way to continue “lax enforcement” to curry favor with immigrant groups, including Hispanics, in an election year.
“The statistics don’t lie. The administration lies,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates lower immigration levels. “The administration doesn’t want to increase the number of detainees, and it’s making more money out of bond defaults.”
Advocates see rip-offs
Immigrants’ rights advocates contend that illegal immigrants are being ripped off by federal authorities who arbitrarily set the bail amounts without regard to their contributions to their communities.
“The one factor that’s explicitly not considered is whether the person can pay the bond,” said Laura Lichter, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “It’s not the same if you are a day laborer than if you are a doctor. (The) bond is a significant amount of money that is part of a family’s income that is being withheld.”
ICE cites priorities
Immigration judges and agents by law must set bail amounts of at least $1,500, but have wide leeway on deciding how much more to ask. The bails of the 55,546 individuals released on bond in 2011 averaged $5,162, according to statistics from the federal agency. ICE’s cash bond account balance as of Feb. 1 was $674 million.
The dramatic expansion of bail comes at a time when immigration enforcement authorities are reducing the number of prosecutions against noncriminals.
ICE instigated 28 percent fewer deportation proceedings in the final three months of 2011, for example, than in the same period in 2010, records show.
Taking into account the approximately 11 million people living in the U.S. unlawfully, ICE is focusing on “smart, effective immigration enforcement,” the agency explained in a written statement.
“ICE also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system, including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country,” according to the statement.
Not all illegal immigrants are undocumented. Some have entered legally, then overstayed the time allowed by the government. Others have committed crimes that jeopardized their visas.
Immigration judges and ICE agents decide whether to grant bail to illegal immigrants. Generally, they qualify for bail if they have no criminal convictions, have not been previously ordered deported, and can demonstrate that they pose no flight risk or threat to public safety.
Unlike bail bonds in the criminal justice system, immigration bonds must be paid in full. Bonds are posted in cash or by surety companies, which guarantee the bond on behalf of the immigrant.
The amount of bail is based on criteria ranging from the immigrants’ ties to the U.S., including the number of years living in the country, their job history, any mortgage and tax payments, and whether they are married to or parents of an American citizen.
Not necessarily lenient
Some immigration lawyers say the spike in bonds doesn’t necessarily reflect a lenient enforcement of the law.
“ICE could be requiring bonds in cases where they previously would have released the person on their own recognizance,” said David Leopold, a prominent immigration lawyer. “That would reflect a greater level of enforcement, not a lesser one. It is also important to remember that most immigrants who have been convicted of crimes are not eligible for bond.”
Ticket to freedom?
ICE collected almost $287 million in bail bonds last year – $107 million more than in 2010, and the highest amount in six years.
By the end of 2011, the agency had returned almost $86.5 million to immigrants who had satisfied the conditions of their bonds.
Immigrants who got their money back either showed up for all court hearings in which authorities made a final decision on their case, or they had voluntarily left the country.
Illegal immigrants forfeited nearly $27.5 million in breached bonds in 2011 – $5 million more than the year before. That fact alone, critics say, demonstrates that some see bail bonds as a ticket to freedom.
“They know they’re here illegally, and they know they have no possibilities from release from removal (deportation). So there’s no reason for them to show up in court,” suggested Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies of the Center for Immigration Studies. “They’re going to take the opportunity to put off the money, and then disappear into the woodwork knowing there’s a pretty good chance they won’t be caught again.”
ICE did not comment on how the seized money is allocated. Records suggest the money is “forfeited” to the federal government.
If history holds, the federal government should seize approximately $30 million this year.
“That source of income is a mark of failure,” Vaughan said
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