Unlocking Liberty: A Way Forward for US Immigration - LIRS

The uncertainty of indefinitely prolonged
detention, the conditions of facilities, and
the fear of deportation often create a sense
of despair among immigration detainees.
Executive Summary
In a country that honors due process, and during a time when most are calling for reduced federal
spending, locking people up should be the exception to the rule. Yet immigrant detention is the
fastest growing, least scrutinized form of incarceration in the United States. On any given day, the
U.S. government imprisons more than 33,000 immigrants—many of whom are refugees or survivors of
torture or human trafficking—in a vast national network of about 250 federal, private, state, and local
jails. The cost to U.S. taxpayers is $122 per detainee per day. These figures, however, fail to account
for the human costs. It is well documented that detention has negative long-term consequences for
immigrants’ mental and physical health and negatively impacts their ability to integrate into society
upon release. All of these costs must necessarily be borne by the public for those granted relief in their
removal cases and permitted to stay in the United States. In contrast, alternatives to detention (ATDs)
are cheaper—they cost only $22 or less per person per day—and are more humane.
An effective use of a broad continuum of alternatives to detention would allow the federal
government to meet its responsibility to enforce compliance with U.S. immigration laws, meet its
humanitarian obligations, and significantly reduce the financial burden to U.S. taxpayers. Alternatives
that utilize case management for those released from custody have a number of benefits:
A Publication of
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