About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 1 (April 14, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcvyr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 









               Researh Sevice






COVID-19's Effect on Interior Immigration

Enforcement and Detention



April 14, 2020
In response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, immigration authorities have altered
interior immigration enforcement activities including arrests, detention, and immigration court
proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims these efforts have facilitated a
speedy, whole-of-government response in confronting COVID- 19, keeping Americans safe, and helping
detect and slow the spread of the virus. This Insight considers how the COVID-19 pandemic has
impacted interior immigration enforcement.

Background
DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and more specifically its Enforcement and
Removal Operations (ERO), is responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the United
States. ICE identifies and arrests non-U.S. nationals (aliens) who have committed immigration violations
and places them in removal proceedings. These proceedings are conducted by an immigration judge (IJ)
within the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees the
adjudication of immigration court proceedings. ICE may detain or release an alien pending removal
proceedings, unless the agency is statutorily required to detain the alien (e.g., when the alien is removable
on account of certain criminal or terrorist activity). Detained aliens may request an IJ's review of ICE's
custody determination.
The composition of the population held in ICE detention facilities has changed due to recent shifts in
migration trends at the southern border. Apprehensions by DHS's Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
reached a 10-year high mark in FY2019, with many more migrants seeking asylum. As a result, ICE's
detention and supervision functions have had to accommodate a distinctively different population than the
typical population arrested in the interior. For context, more than 500,000 individuals were booked into
ICE custody in FY2019, an increase of 19% compared to FY2018, largely as a result of the higher than
typical border apprehensions. The average daily population in detention in FY2019 was just over 50,000,
also a 19% increase. In addition, at the end of FY2019 there were more than 3.2 million persons in the
non-detained docket, who have been released from ICE custody (including on orders of recognizance,
parole, and bond) but mostly remain under ERO supervision. Some in the non-detained docket have been
enrolled in ICE's alternative to detention program. More than 267,000 foreign nationals were removed

                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                  https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                      IN11335

CRS }NStGHT
Prepaed for Membeivs and
Cornm ittees  o4 Corq ess  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most