Beyond the Walls: The Importance of Community Contexts in Immigration Detention

Abstract

Immigration detention facilities are commonly assumed to be insulated microcosms that maintain their existence separate and apart from the surrounding communities. Yet detention facilities are not hermetically sealed institutions. Drawing on unique and comprehensive data pertaining to all individuals held in immigration detention in the United States in fiscal year 2015, this study explores for the first time the importance of community contexts in immigration detention. Our multivariable analyses show a significant relationship between the characteristics of communities in which the facilities are located and detention length for individuals who were released pending the completion of their removal proceedings. Specifically, we find that the presence of legal service providers and social support networks in the communities is associated with shorter detention length, controlling for a variety of individual characteristics and contextual factors. These findings highlight the need for research on the social ecology of immigration detention—research that moves beyond the walls of detention facilities to consider the broader legal, social, and political contexts of surrounding communities in investigating the nature and consequences of immigration detention.

Jailing Immigrant Detainees: A National Study of County Participation in Immigration Detention, 1983–2013

“…We conclude by highlighting a number of other pressing issues that cannot be fully understood without considering the role of place and local context. Existing research shows that the presence of legal service providers and social support networks for immigrants in communities in which detention facilities are located predicts shorter detention length, controlling for a variety of individual characteristics and contextual factors (Ryo and Peacock ). Insofar as the type of counties that have become increasingly involved in immigration detention is also the type that might lack legal service providers and social support infrastructures for immigrants, our findings have significant policy implications for the protection of due process rights of detainees.…”

“…Although an emerging empirical literature has begun to explore the nature and consequences of immigration detention (see, e.g., Eagly et al ; Ryo and Peacock , ), no empirical study to date has examined how racial and political dynamics might be affecting decisions of local officials to participate in immigration detention. Local officials are responsible for decisions about whether to sign an IGSA and whether to continue confining ICE detainees in local jails.…”

“…These detention facilities are situated in many different types of localities with varying access to legal counsel, community resources, and immigrant advocacy networks. This means that local community contexts in which immigrant detainees are confined can play an important role in shaping their detention experiences and outcomes (Ryo and Peacock ). From this standpoint, understanding which counties are likely to contract with ICE will provide new insights into whether and to what extent growing local movements to end immigration detention might have unintended negative consequences for certain immigrant detainees.…”

Jailing Immigrant Detainees: A National Study of County Participation in Immigration Detention, 1983-2013

“…We conclude by highlighting a number of other pressing issues that cannot be fully understood without considering the role of place and local context. Existing research shows that the presence of legal service providers and social support networks for immigrants in communities in which detention facilities are located predicts shorter detention length, controlling for a variety of individual characteristics and contextual factors (Ryo and Peacock 2019). Insofar as the type of counties that have become increasingly involved in immigration detention is also the type of counties that might lack legal service providers and social support infrastructures for immigrants, our findings have significant policy implications for the protection of due process rights of detainees.…”

“…These detention facilities are situated in many different types of localities with varying access to legal counsel, community resources, and immigrant advocacy networks. This means that local community contexts in which immigrant detainees are confined can play an important role in shaping their detention experiences and outcomes (Ryo and Peacock 2019). From this standpoint, understanding which counties are likely to contract with ICE will provide new insights into whether and to what extent growing local movements to end immigration detention might have unintended negative consequences for certain immigrant detainees.…”