Open AccessJail By Another Name: ICE Detention of Immigrant Criminal Defendants on Pretrial Release
Author(s) -
Kerry Martin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
michigan journal of race and law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2688-5492
pISSN - 1095-2721
DOI - 10.36643/mjrl.25.2.jail
Subject(s) - principle of legality , law , immigration , political science , legislature , state (computer science) , criminology , interpretation (philosophy) , prison , sociology , algorithm , computer science , programming language
This Article assesses the legality of an alarming practice: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) routinely detains noncitizen criminal defendants soon after they have been released on bail, depriving them of their court-ordered freedom. Since the District of Oregon’s decision in United States v. Trujillo-Alvarez, 900 F. Supp. 2d 1167 (D. Or. 2012), a growing group of federal courts has held that when ICE detains federal criminal defendants released under the Bail Reform Act (BRA), it violates their BRA rights. These courts have ordered that the government either free the defendants from ICE custody or dismiss their criminal charges. This Article agrees with and expands on this interpretation of the BRA. Focusing on the BRA’s plain text and legislative history, it argues that the BRA confers a “right to remain released” pending trial, which ICE detention infringes. It then debunks the leading counterarguments to this BRA interpretation. It also explores constitutional arguments for the right to remain released and their implications for federal and state criminal defendants.