Judicial Rulings Ending the Obama

Administration’s Family Detention Policy: 

Implications for Illegal Immigration and

Border Security

Majority Staff Report of the

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

United States Senate

Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman

January 10, 2019
2

FOREWORD

The political debate over immigration—both legal and illegal—has become steadily more

divisive over the last few decades, resulting in a policy stalemate. The complexity, inadequacy of

information, and changing nature of the problem only deepen the challenge of finding solutions.

The chart shown below demonstrates how the problem has changed over time:

No one really knows how many people enter the United States illegally each year, or how

many people currently reside in the country illegally. The number of apprehensions is often used

as a surrogate statistic to estimate the levels of illegal immigration and residency. It is an

imperfect surrogate to say the least. To illustrate one distortion, some Mexican migrants living

close to the border who attempt to enter the country illegally may be apprehended multiple times.

Migrants from Central America who are apprehended and returned to their countries of origin do

not have the same opportunity for multiple illegal crossings. As a result, multiple apprehensions

of Mexicans tend to overstate the assumed extent of illegal immigration. Even the definition of

“apprehension” itself has changed over time, further distorting the numbers.

The chart clearly shows how apprehensions have increased and decreased over time. 

Multiple factors and historical events can be cited to explain this ebb and flow. Prior to the

1950s, the United States put little emphasis on southern border migration enforcement. In fact,

many workers freely traveled back and forth between the United States and Mexico for work

(circular immigration). After a significant spike in apprehensions, the United States began a

major enforcement action from 1954 to 1956, deporting over a million migrants. Increased

deportations in combination with the Bracero program, which allowed guest workers from

Mexico to obtain legal employment in the United States, significantly reduced the incentive for

illegal entry. As a result, apprehensions dramatically decreased for the decade 1955-1965. 

Unfortunately, the Bracero program ended in 1965, creating greater incentives for migrants to
3

stay permanently in the United States rather than return to Mexico on an annual basis, effectively

ending circular immigration and increasing the number of illegal residents.

From 1965 through 2000, apprehensions steadily increased, peaking in 1986 when the

United States passed a major immigration reform law granting amnesty in exchange for border

security. Unfortunately, even though amnesty was granted, the border security provisions were

never effectively implemented. Instead of fixing the problem, the 1986 law’s amnesty, together

with a strong U.S. economy, created added incentives for increased illegal immigration.

Apprehensions peaked again in 2000, and then began to decline as Mexico’s economy

strengthened due to NAFTA. 

Since 2000, increasing numbers of Mexicans have found employment in a stronger

Mexican economy. At the same time, a rise in drug cartels, gangs, public corruption and poverty

dramatically weakened the economies and public institutions in Central America, and produced a

new wave of migration from that region. In addition to these “push factors” for Central American

migration, our strong economy, immigration laws, policy changes, and legal rulings in the

United States provide enormous incentives, or “pull factors,” for illegal immigration. In

particular, our broken immigration system is being exploited by human smugglers and traffickers

to entice Central American unaccompanied alien children (“UACs”) and family units to

undertake the dangerous journey through Mexico and into the United States.

Although people from all over the world continue to illegally enter the United States or

overstay their visas, our illegal immigration problem has shifted from being primarily associated

with Mexican economic migrants to unaccompanied alien children and family units fleeing

Central America. The charts below show the extraordinary growth in these categories since

2012. 
4

For the six-year period of fiscal years 2013 through 2018, 601,629 people were

apprehended as an unaccompanied alien child from Central America or as part of a family unit

crossing illegally between the ports of entry. In just the first three months of FY2019, the number

of family unit apprehensions alone was reportedly 75,805. This dramatic increase in children and

family apprehensions is overwhelming our system. Some of these individuals will be granted

asylum, but a majority will have their asylum claims denied as they will be deemed an economic

migrant. Because the adjudication process can take years to conclude, and we have very limited

detention facilities with legal limitations on the length of time anyone can be detained, only a

very small percentage of these individuals will actually be removed. This creates an incentive for

more people to exploit our broken system and continue to increase the flow.

The goal of any immigration reform should be to deter and reduce the number of people

entering illegally, overstaying a visa, or entering without proper documentation. Immigration

should be a legal and controlled process. Over the last 30 years, Congress has passed multiple

bills that are either primarily designed to fix this problem or that have elements that attempt to

address it. As the chart below demonstrates, in spite of these attempted legislative fixes, the

problem has only continued to grow.
5

When the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed, it was estimated that

1.5 million people would avail themselves of the amnesty. Instead, 2.7 million people were

granted amnesty. Since 1986, the estimated number of individuals in our country illegally has

steadily increased. Using one modeling method, the generally accepted number is currently

around 12 million. However, two Yale University researchers recently used a different statistical

modeling method and estimated a range between 16 and 30 million people in the United States

illegally. No one really knows the true number of illegal immigrants in the U.S.: further evidence

that this problem is out of control. 

Better barriers, erected in the appropriate border areas, are a necessary first step in

solving this growing problem. But changes in law are just as crucial to eliminate the incentives

and rewards that fuel an increasing number of unaccompanied alien children and family units to

enter the United States illegally. Obvious changes required to actually fix the problem include:

differentiating the hurdle to establish credible fear for legal versus illegal entry; replacing the

courts’ reinterpretation of the Flores settlement agreement with standards that allow for an

adequate detention period; repealing the law that treats unaccompanied alien minors differently

based on where they come from; and placing limits on the number of appeals allowed for denied

asylum claims. Any immigration reform proposal that does not include these elements will

simply add to the long list of failed legislation that has come before.

Sincerely,

Ron Johnson

Chairman

Senate Homeland Security & Governmental

Affairs Committee
6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As Mexico’s economy has grown and Central American drug gangs have strengthened,

the make-up of illegal immigration has shifted. Greater opportunity within Mexico reduced the

incentive for Mexicans to migrate, whereas weakened public institutions and worsening

conditions in Central America produced a surge of migration from that region.1 In particular,

new laws, policy changes, and legal rulings in the United States are being exploited by human

smugglers and traffickers to entice Central American unaccompanied alien children (“UACs”)

and family units to illegally enter the United States.2

Over the four fiscal years (FY) prior to the 2012 implementation of Deferred Action on

Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) (FY2008-FY2011), a total of 15,852 unaccompanied alien

children from Central America were apprehended coming into this country illegally.3 Over the

last four fiscal years (FY2015-FY2018), that total grew nearly tenfold to 145,313.

4 Although

DACA did not apply to new arrivals, coyotes used the change in policy as an incentive to entice

more unaccompanied alien children to the United States.5

The number of family units apprehended entering illegally has also seen a dramatic

increase. In FY2012, 11,116 individuals entering illegally as part of a family unit were

apprehended.6 By FY2014, that number had increased to 68,445.

7 As a result of this significant

increase, the Obama administration began detaining family units to ensure they could be

removed in the event their asylum claim was denied. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Jeh

Johnson explained that decision this way: “Frankly, we want to send a message that our border is

 1 Gabriel Lesser and Jeanne Batalova, Central American Immigrants in the United States, Migration Policy Inst.

(Apr. 5, 2017), https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/central-american-immigrants-united-states; Max Bearak,

Even Before Trump, More Mexicans Were Leaving the U.S. Than Arriving, Wash. Post (Jan. 27, 2017),

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/27/even-before-trump-more-mexicans-wereleaving-the-us-than-arriving/?utm_term=.c00f69e2c2c4. 2 Ongoing Migration from Central America: An Examination of FY2015 Apprehensions: Hearing Before the S.

Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 114th Cong. (Oct. 21, 2015), available at

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/ongoing-migration-from-central-america-an-examination-of-fy2015-

apprehensions (statement of Kimberly Gianopoulos, Dir., Int’l Affairs & Trade); Briefing with Homeland Sec.

Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29, 2018); Briefing with U.S. Customs &

Border Protection Official, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (Sept. 10, 2018). 3 Dep’t of Homeland Security Border Metrics Report (May 1, 2018), available at

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/BSMR_OIS_2016.pdf [hereinafter DHS Border Metrics

Report].

4 Id. See also U.S. Border Patrol, Southwest Border Apprehensions FY2017-2018 (2018) (on file with Comm.

majority staff) [hereinafter Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018]. 5 Ongoing Migration from Central America: An Examination of FY2015 Apprehensions: Hearing Before the S.

Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 114th Cong. (Oct. 21, 2015), available at

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/ongoing-migration-from-central-america-an-examination-of-fy2015-

apprehensions (statement of Kimberly Gianopoulos, Dir., Int’l Affairs & Trade); Briefing with Homeland Sec.

Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29, 2018); Briefing with U.S. Customs &

Border Protection Official, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (Sept. 10, 2018). 6 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3. 7 Id.
7

not open to illegal migration, and if you come here, you should not expect to simply be

released.”8 The policy worked: In FY2015, the number decreased by 41.8 percent to 39,838.

9

But in 2015, a federal district court ruled that the Obama administration’s family

detention policy violated the government’s 1997 Flores settlement agreement (“Flores”).10 The

court’s decision reinterpreted Flores, ruling for the first time that the government must release

minors even if they are apprehended with their families. The ruling forced the Department of

Homeland Security (“DHS” or “the Department”) to choose between separating families by

detaining adults and releasing children within 20 days, or simply “catching and releasing”11 the

apprehended family within the 20-day period.12 The Obama administration chose the latter.

The rate of family units migrating to the United States illegally has increased

significantly following the ruling. Between FY2016 and FY2018, U.S. Border Patrol

apprehended more than 260,000 people arriving as family units between the nation’s ports of

entry, with 107,212 apprehended in FY2018 alone—almost 10 times more than in FY2012.

13

During just the first three months of FY2019, 75,805 people were apprehended as part of a

family unit, with December 2018 having the highest total on record.14 The problem is not going

away; rather, it is escalating.

On April 6, 2018, the Trump administration instituted a “zero-tolerance” policy to fully

enforce immigration law by prosecuting all illegal border crossers, resulting in adults being

detained and separated from their children.15 After overwhelming public outcry, President

Trump signed an executive order in June 2018 ending the separation of children from their

parents.16 The administration was forced to revert to the policy of catching and releasing families

 8 Julia Preston, Detention Center Presented as Deterrent to Border Crossings, N.Y. Times (Dec. 15, 2014),

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/us/homeland-security-chief-opens-largest-immigration-detention-center-inus.html.

9 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3. 10 Flores v. Johnson, 212 F. Supp. 3d 864, 875 (C.D. Cal.), clarified on denial of reconsideration sub nom. Flores v.

Lynch, 212 F. Supp. 3d 907 (C.D. Cal. 2015), aff'd in part, rev'd in part and remanded, 828 F.3d 898 (9th Cir.

2016). 11 The phrase “catch and release” has been used by DHS to describe the policy of releasing aliens after

apprehension. Former Secretary Jeh Johnson has repeatedly used the term “catch and release” in the context of his

advocacy of continuing family detention to prevent the government from “engaging in catch and release.” See, e.g.,

Mike Lillis, DHS Chief Defends Child Detention, The Hill (Aug. 3, 2016), https://thehill.com/policy/nationalsecurity/290316-dhs-chief-defends-child-detention-practices. 12 Flores v. Lynch, 828 F.3d 898, 910 (9th Cir. 2016). 13 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3; Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018, supra note 4. 14 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Southwest Border Migration, FY 2019, available at

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration [hereinafter Southwest Border Migration Data FY2019];

Alan Gomez, Central American migrants keep heading toward US, even as Trump focuses on stopping caravans,

USA Today (Jan. 9, 2019), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/09/migrant-caravan-trumpcrackdown-has-not-slowed-flow-families-us/2523034002/ (reporting that “Border Patrol agents apprehended 27,518

members of family units in December, the highest monthly total on record.”). 15 Office of the Att’y Gen., Memorandum for Federal Prosecutors Along the Southwest Border (Apr. 6, 2018),

available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1049751/download. 16 Exec. Order No. 13,841, 83 Fed. Reg. 29435 (June 20, 2018), available at

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/06/25/2018-13696/affording-congress-an-opportunity-to-addressfamily-separation.
8

who enter illegally without being able to verify whether an actual family bond exists. Without

that verification, there is a real risk that human traffickers will exploit the current system.

It is reasonable to assume that most of the apprehended and released family members will

join the millions of people living illegally in the shadows within the United States. Historically,

fewer than 10 percent of non-detained aliens ordered removed are actually removed from the

country.17 Yet only roughly one in five aliens who applied have been granted asylum.18

In the 115th Congress, both the House and Senate failed to enact improvements to our

immigration system, appropriate funds for more border barriers, or address the plight of

hundreds of thousands of Dreamers. In the spring of 2018, a bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary

Committee members tried to negotiate a possible solution to the enforcement and family

separation dilemma, but those talks stalled.19

In June, Chairman Ron Johnson, after consulting with Senate Judiciary Committee

colleagues, directed his staff to begin crafting legislation to fix Flores that would fall under the

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s juridiction. As a starting point,

Chairman Johnson introduced the Fixing America’s Marred Immigration Laws to Improve and

Ensure Security Act, or the FAMILIES Act.

20 The bill would authorize DHS to keep families

together during their immigration proceedings, provide some additional resources to help process

the cases on a prioritized basis, and require reporting to help inform future action.

On September 18, 2018, the Committee held a hearing to examine the legislation and the

implications of the Flores reinterpretation.21 Chairman Johnson announced his commitment to

finding areas of agreement and a fact-based, non-partisan solution that: (1) secures our borders;

(2) enforces our immigration laws; (3) maintains reasonable asylum standards; and (4) keeps

asylum-seeking families together.22 The Committee held more than 20 bipartisan staff briefings,

went on staff delegation trips to family residential centers and an immigration court, continued

oversight related to the reinterpretation of Flores and current immigration challenges, and met to

discuss the bill at a business meeting on September 26, 2018.

 17 John Whitley, Dennis Kuo, Ethan Novak & Brian Rieksts, Describing the Adjudication Process for Unlawful

Non-Traditional Migrants, Institute for Defense Analyses (June 2017) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 18 U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Exec. Office for Immigration Review, Statistics Yearbook Fiscal Year 2017 (2017),

available at https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1107056/download; U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Exec. Office for

Immigration Review, Adjudication Statistics: Asylum Decision Rates (2018), available at

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1104861/download. 19 Jordain Carney, Deal to Fix Family Separations Hits Snag in the Senate, The Hill (July 17, 2018),

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/397744-deal-to-fix-family-separations-hits-snag-in-the-senate. 20 The FAMILIES Act, S. 3478 (115th Cong.), available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senatebill/3478.

21 The Implications of the Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement Agreement for Border Security and Illegal

Immigration Incentives: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong.

(2018), available at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/the-implications-of-the-reinterpretation-of-the-floressettlement-agreement-for-border-security-and-illegal-immigration-incentives [hereinafter HSGAC Hearing on

Flores Settlement]. 22 Id.
9

Through these ongoing oversight efforts, it has become clear that the FAMILIES Act as

introduced does not adequately address the problems created by Flores and other aspects of our

broken immigration system. For example, the Committee has discovered that for every new

immigration judge, Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) would need three prosecutors

to handle the caseload. Based on the current level of illegal immigration, ICE also needs more

detention space and beds. In addition, the almost endless appeals process significantly adds to the

huge immigration case backlog, and the low bar to claim asylum for those entering illegally

between the ports of entry provides no incentive to apply for asylum legally. 

The purpose of this report is to inform the Committee’s problem-solving process. It

makes the following findings:

1. The Flores reinterpretation requires DHS to “catch and release” apprehended families at

the southern border, incentivizing more illegal immigration. The number of family unit

members apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) since FY2012

has increased by a staggering 864 percent, and the problem is only getting worse: In the

first three months of FY2019 alone, the number of family unit members apprehended was

reportedly 75,805, compared to 107,212 in all of FY2018.

2. The Flores reinterpretation, combined with limited detention facilities, has forced ICE to

release all families—including male-headed families traveling with teenage girls—within

days of apprehension and without sufficient screening for human trafficking or child

welfare. In other words, CBP and ICE do not have sufficient time to determine if the

adult male is the father or a sex trafficker, or whether the teenage girl is his daughter or

sex slave.

3. In FY2018, the United States determined that more than 75 percent of illegal aliens had a

“credible fear” of returning home—halting their removal while the case proceeds—yet

less than 21 percent of those who applied for asylum ultimately received it.

4. From FY2015-FY2018, only 7 percent of non-detained illegal immigrant families were

removed from the United States; conversely, 77 percent of detained illegal immigrant

families were removed.

5. Alternatives to detention (“ATD”) as currently implemented by ICE have not proved

effective in ensuring that aliens whose asylum claims are denied are available for

removal.

6. The median adjudication time for initial case completion for an alien in detention has

increased from 8 days in FY2008 to 40 days in FY2018.

7. ICE is meeting Flores requirements for humane and safe standards, but the requirement

that detainees live in state-licensed facilities creates significant challenges.

8. Push factors in Central America such as high crime and murder rates, gang extortion,

drug cartel brutality, and lack of economic opportunity play a significant role in migrants’

decision to make the dangerous journey to the United States.
10

Committee staff have also identified the following questions that require additional

information and oversight:

1. How long would apprehended families need to be detained if the law was changed to

restore the Obama administration’s policy to allow for family detention beyond 20 days? 

Or, stated another way, what would be a reasonable time limit for families to be

detained?

2. What additional resources, including bed space, judges, government lawyers, and others,

would be required to swiftly move families through immigration court proceedings so

that the agreed upon time limit could be adhered to?

3. What would it cost to implement ATD in a manner that ensures that aliens can be

returned to custody for removal, and how would that compare with detention costs?

4. What are the long-term implications for children placed in detention: a) unaccompanied;

or b) detained with at least one parent?

 

5. To what extent are smugglers and traffickers using DHS’s policy of “catch and release”

for apprehended families to smuggle and/or traffic people, including unrelated minors,

into the country?
11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD BY CHAIRMAN RON JOHNSON........................................................................ 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................. 11

I. BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................. 12

II. KEY FACTS AND DATA IDENTIFIED BY THE COMMITTEE'S OVERSIGHT ..... 22

III. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND OVERSIGHT NEEDED .................................. 37

IV. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................. 42
12

I. BACKGROUND

In 1985, four unaccompanied minors were apprehended separately for illegally crossing

the border.23 The children were detained at a facility in California pending removal

proceedings.24 The policy of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (“INS”) facility

was to release minors only to parents or lawful guardians.25

One of the unaccompanied children was Jenny Flores, a 15-year-old from El Salvador.26

On July 11, 1985, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law filed a class action

lawsuit on behalf of her and other detained children, arguing that the government’s policies

violated the children’s right to equal protection and due process under the U.S. Constitution.27

The case was ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court. In 1993, the Supreme Court held

that the government could detain unaccompanied immigrant minors in government facilities or

with willing-and-able private custodians, as long as they met minimum standards.28 The case

was remanded for further proceedings.29

The government and class action plaintiffs eventually agreed to the 1997 consent decree

that established “a nationwide policy for the detention, release, and treatment of minors” in

immigration custody, commonly referred to as the Flores settlement agreement.30 Under Flores,

minors must be placed in the least restrictive setting, appropriate to the minor’s age and special

needs, provided that such setting is consistent with ensuring the minor’s timely appearance

before the federal authorities and immigration courts and to protect the minor’s well-being and

that of others.31 Specifically, the minor must be placed in a “safe and sanitary,”32 non-secure

facility that is licensed by the state to provide residential, group, or foster care services for

dependent children.33 Under a 2001 stipulation agreement, Flores was to stay in effect until “45

days after the federal government promulgates final regulations implementing the Agreement.”34

 23 VOA Immigration Unit, A History of the Flores Settlement, Voice of Am. News (June 21, 2018),

https://www.voanews.com/a/a-history-of-the-flores-settlement-/4449350.html; Flores v. Meese, Slip Op. 85 4544, at

5-6 (C.D. Cal. July 11, 1985), https://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/IM-CA-0002-0001.pdf. 24 Sarah Herman Peck & Ben Harrington, Cong. Research Serv., R45297, The "Flores Settlement" and Alien

Families Apprehended at the U.S. Border: Frequently Asked Questions (Sept. 17, 2018), available at

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R45297.pdf.

25 Id. 26 VOA Immigration Unit, supra note 23. 27 See generally Flores by Galvez-Maldonado v. Meese, 934 F.2d 991 (9th Cir. 1990), opinion vacated and

superseded on reh'g, 942 F.2d 1352 (9th Cir. 1991), rev'd sub nom. Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, 113 S. Ct. 1439

(1993).

28 Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, 113 S. Ct. 1439 (1993).

29 Sarah Herman Peck & Ben Harrington, Cong. Research Serv., R45297, The "Flores Settlement" and Alien

Families Apprehended at the U.S. Border: Frequently Asked Questions (Sept. 17, 2018). 30 Stipulated Settlement Agreement at 6, Jenny Lisette Flores, et al. v. Janet Reno, No. CV 85-4544-RJK(Px), 2014

WL 7152078, available at https://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/IM-CA-0002-0005.pdf. 31 Id. 32 Id. 33 Id. 34 Flores v. Reno, Case No. CV 85-4544-RJK(Px), Stipulation Extending the Settlement Agreement and for Other

Purposes, and Order Thereon (C.D. Cal., Dec. 7, 2001).
13

A. The Obama administration’s 2014 family detention policy.

In FY2012, the first year that CBP began tracking the data, 11,116 family units were

apprehended at the southern border.35 In FY2013, the number modestly increased to 14,855

family units.36 In FY2014, the number jumped to 68,445 family units—a 361 percent increase

from FY2013.37 In addition to these family units, CBP apprehended 51,705 unaccompanied alien

children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in FY2014 compared to 20,785 in FY2013,

10,128 in FY2012, and only 3,912 in FY2011.38 

The influx of children and families created significant challenges for DHS. To put the

FY2014 numbers into context, see Figures 1 and 2 showing historical trends of family unit and

unaccompanied alien children apprehension at the southern border, and Figures 3 and 4 for data

showing a breakdown of age and gender of apprehended unaccompanied alien children. 

Figure 1: Family Apprehensions at the Southern border, FY2012 to FY201839

 35 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3 at 22. 36 Id. 37 Id. 38 Id.

39 Id; Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018, supra note 4. All figures in this report will be

available on the Committee’s website.
14

Figure 2: UAC Apprehensions, FY2009 to FY201840

Figure 3: Age of UAC, FY2012 to FY201841

 40 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3; Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018, supra note 4. 41 Dep’t of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Facts and Data (2018), available at

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/about/ucs/facts-and-data (last updated Dec. 20, 2018). 
15

Figure 4: Gender of UAC, FY2012 to FY201842

In response to the sharp influx in family units crossing the southern border, the Obama

administration initiated a new policy in December 2014—detaining family units—to deter illegal

immigration.43 Then-Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson explained the Department’s

objective: “Frankly, we want to send a message that our border is not open to illegal migration,

and if you come here, you should not expect to simply be released.”44 DHS opened two

permanent family residential facilities in Texas and a temporary facility in New Mexico to

handle the surge of family units.45

The number of apprehended families decreased from 68,445 in FY2014 to 39,838 in

FY2015 (a decrease of 28,607, or 41.8 percent).46

 42 Id. 43 Julia Preston, Detention Center Presented as Deterrent to Border Crossings, N.Y. Times (Dec. 15, 2014),

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/us/homeland-security-chief-opens-largest-immigration-detention-center-inus.html. 44 Id. 45 Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Fact Sheet: Artesia Temporary Facility for Adults with Children in Expedited Removal,

(June 20, 2014), available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/FACT-SHEET-ARTESIATEMPORARY-FACILITY-FOR-ADULTS-WITH-CHILDEN-IN-EXPEDITED-REMOVAL_0.pdf; Press Release,

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE's New Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas to Open in

December (Nov. 17, 2014), https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ices-new-family-detention-center-dilley-texas-opendecember.

46 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3.
16

B. Legal challenges to the Obama administration’s family detention policy.

On February 2, 2015, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law filed a class

action lawsuit on behalf of detained illegal immigrants arguing that the Obama administration’s

policy to apprehend families violated the terms of Flores.

47 In defending its policy, the Obama

administration described the challenges facing DHS at the southern border and the impact the

new policy was having:

This unprecedented influx constituted a serious humanitarian situation, as large

numbers of alien children—coming both with and without their parents—arrived

at our border hungry, thirsty, exhausted, scared, and, at times, in need of urgent

medical attention. In response to this situation, the U.S. Department of Homeland

Security (“DHS”) created additional, family-appropriate immigration detention

capacity to hold families apprehended at the border, without requiring separation

of parents from their children. These family residential facilities provide for the

safety, security, and medical needs of both parents and children. They also ensure

both the maintenance of family units and DHS’s ability to efficiently and

effectively process removal cases involving families. As a result of these actions,

the number of both UACs and accompanied children illegally entering the United

States has decreased significantly.48

The Obama administration asserted that the policy change was necessary to deter illegal

immigration because “[the] release of accompanied children and their parents gives families a

strong incentive to undertake the dangerous journey to this country.”49 Deciding against the

government, the Obama administration argued, “threatens family unity and ignores the

significant growth in the number of children (both accompanied and unaccompanied)

apprehended while unlawfully crossing the southwest border.”50 Further, the government argued

the Flores “Agreement is clearly crafted in a manner that indicates that the parties did not intend

its provisions to apply to accompanied children.”51

On July 24, 2015, a U.S. district court in California ruled that Flores generally requires

the government to release minors as well as their accompanying parents.52 The Obama

administration appealed, arguing that compliance with the district court’s ruling in the “face of a

new surge of children and families would almost certainly require [DHS] to divert substantial

resources away from other critical immigration, humanitarian, national security, and border

 47 See Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Enforce Settlement of Class Action, Flores, et al. v. Johnson et al., No. CV 85-

4544-RJK(Px) (C.D.Cal.), available at https://www.aila.org/File/Related/14111359g.pdf. 48 Defs.’ Resp. in Opp’n to Pls.’ Mot. to Enforce Settlement of Class Action at 1-2, Flores, et al. v. Holder et al.,

No. 2:85-cv-04544-DMG-AGR, 2015 WL 13648967 (C.D.Cal. 2015).

49 Flores v. Johnson, 212 F. Supp. 3d 864, 875 (C.D. Cal.), clarified on denial of reconsideration sub nom. Flores v.

Lynch, 212 F. Supp. 3d 907 (C.D. Cal. 2015), aff'd in part, rev'd in part and remanded, 828 F.3d 898 (9th Cir.

2016). 50 Id. 51 Id. 52 Id. at 886-67.
17

security-related operations.”53 On July 6, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

held that Flores “unambiguously applies both to minors who are accompanied and

unaccompanied by their parents.”54 However, the court ruled that Flores does not require DHS to

release the adults accompanying a child.55

When Committee staff spoke with former Secretary Jeh Johnson in August 2018, he was

clear about his continued disagreement with the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Flores:

I will tell you that strictly as a legal matter that Flores was wrongly decided. It is

clear that what the parties intended when they settled that case in 1997 was only

with respect to unaccompanied children. It is clear from the certified class, the

scope of the certified class. But the language of the settlement terms was not so

limited. This applies to accompanied children as well. I disagreed then and

disagree now.56 

As a result of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, DHS and its components were forced to decide

between “catching and releasing” apprehended families within 20 days, or releasing

accompanied children while continuing to detain their parents. The Obama administration, in

general, chose “catch and release”.57

The data speaks for itself: in FY2016, there were 77,674 family unit apprehensions by

CBP at the southern border;

58 in FY2017, 75,802;59 in FY2018, the number increased to

107,212, a 169 percent increase from FY2015, the year of the Flores reinterpretation, and a

staggering 864 percent from FY2012; and during just the first three months of FY2019, 75,805

people were apprehended as part of a family unit.60 In the last five fiscal years, a total of 368,971

individuals (73,794 average per year) have been apprehended entering the country illegally in a

family unit compared to only 11,116 in FY2012.

61

C. The Trump administration’s 2018 zero-tolerance policy and family separations.

In early 2018, the Trump administration recognized the increasing trend of illegal

migration and apprehensions at the southern border compared to prior years and month-overmonth data. In April 2018, DHS reported a 299 percent increase in illegal border crossings

 53 Mot. Pursuant to Circuit Rules 27-12 and 34-3 to Expedite Briefing and Hr’g Schedule for Appeal at 3, Flores v.

Lynch, 828 F.3d 898, 901 (9th Cir. 2016), available at https://www.aila.org/File/Related/14111359q.pdf. 54 Flores v. Lynch, 828 F.3d 898, 900 (9th Cir. 2016). 55 Id. at 908. 56 Telephone Interview with Jeh Johnson, former Sec'y of Homeland Sec. (Aug. 28, 2018) (notes on file with Comm.

majority staff). 57 Id. 58 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3. 59 Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018, supra note 4. 60 Id; Alan Gomez, Central American migrants keep heading toward US, even as Trump focuses on stopping

caravans, USA Today (Jan. 9, 2019), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/09/migrant-caravantrump-crackdown-has-not-slowed-flow-families-us/2523034002/ (reporting that “Border Patrol agents apprehended

27,518 members of family units in December, the highest monthly total on record.”). 61 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3; Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018, supra note 4.
18

between March 2017 (16,794) and March 2018 (50,357), and a 37 percent increase between

February 2018 (36,751) and March 2018 (50,357).62

On April 6, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed all U.S. Attorney offices along

the southern border to prosecute offenses of attempted illegal entry and illegal entry into the

United States.63 The policy has been referred to as the “zero-tolerance” policy. Attorney General

Sessions explained:

The situation at our Southwest Border is unacceptable. Congress has failed to pass

effective legislation that serves the national interest—that closes dangerous

loopholes and fully funds a wall along our southern border. As a result, a crisis

has erupted at our Southwest Border that necessitates an escalated effort to

prosecute those who choose to illegally cross our border.64

Because of the Flores reinterpretation, prosecuting all illegal border crossers required

authorities to separate any children from an accompanying adult as the adult awaited their

criminal proceedings.65 Children were referred to Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of

Refugee Resettlement (“ORR”) and recategorized as unaccompanied alien children.

66 From May

5, 2018, through June 20, 2018, 2,667 children were separated from their parents: 2,564 were

ages 5 through 17, and 103 were under the age of 5.

67 

On June 6, 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit to end family

separations and require the Trump administration to quickly reunite the separated families.68 On

June 20, 2018, President Trump signed an executive order mandating that families illegally

entering the United States be kept together in family residential centers, except where there is a

fear for the child’s welfare.69 If space is not available to house these family units, they are often

released into the ATD program or on parole.70 The executive order also directed agencies to find

additional appropriate locations to house family units.71

 62 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Attorney General Announces Zero-Tolerance Policy for Criminal Illegal

Entry (Apr. 6, 2018), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-announces-zero-tolerance-policycriminal-illegal-entry; Southwest Border Migration Data FY2019, supra note 14. 63 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Attorney General Announces Zero-Tolerance Policy for Criminal Illegal

Entry (Apr. 6, 2018), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-announces-zero-tolerance-policycriminal-illegal-entry. 64 Id. 65 Tim O’Shea and Theresa Cardinal Brown, Why Are Families Being Separated at the Border? An Explainer,

Bipartisan Policy Center (June 13, 2018), https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/why-are-families-being-separated-at-theborder-an-explainer/. 66 William A. Kandel, Cong. Research Serv., R45266, The Trump Administration's "Zero Tolerance" Immigration

Enforcement Policy (2018), available at https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=814001. 67 Joint Status Report, Ms. L, et al., Petitioners-Plaintiffs, v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, et al.,

Respondents-Defendants 4 (S.D.Cal. 2018), available at

https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/ms_l_v_ice_-_joint_status_report_1.pdf. 68 See Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enf't, 302 F. Supp. 3d 1149 (S.D. Cal. 2018). 69 Exec. Order No. 13,841, 83 Fed Reg. 29435 (June 20, 2018). 70 Id. 71 Id.
19

On June 26, 2018, a group of 17 states and the District of Columbia filed a federal

lawsuit to reunite all children with their parents.72 On June 29, 2018, a district court judge

ordered the government to reunite separated families by certain deadlines: children under the age

of five by July 10, 2018, and children five years or older by July 26, 2018.73 Figure 5, below,

shows the government’s progress as of December 12, 2018.

Figure 5: Family Reunification Progress74

President Trump ended family separations on June 20, 2018, while insisting that the zerotolerance policy was still in effect.75 In reality, the United States’ immigration policy reverted to

“catch and release” for all illegal alien families at the southern border.76

On September 6, 2018, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen and HHS

Secretary Alex Azar announced a new proposed rulemaking to amend the terms of Flores:

The rule would satisfy the basic purpose of the [Flores Settlement Agreement]

FSA in ensuring that all juveniles in the government's custody are treated with

 72 Joseph De Avila, States Sue Trump Administration Over Immigrant Family Separation Policy, Wall St. J. (June

26, 2018), www.wsj.com/articles/states-sue-trump-administration-over-immigrant-family-separation-policy1530050363?mod=article_inline.

73 Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enf't (“ICE”), 310 F. Supp. 3d 1133, 1149–50 (S.D. Cal. 2018). 74 Id. 75 Exec. Order No. 13,841, 83 Fed Reg. 29435; see also John Wagner, Nick Miroff & Mike DeBonis, Trump

Reverses Course, Signs Order Ending His Policy of Separating Families at the Border, Wash. Post (June 20, 2018),

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/gop-leaders-voice-hope-that-bill-addressing-family-separations-willpass-thursday/2018/06/20/cc79db9a-7480-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?utm_term=.93519b6b0121. 76 Id.
20

dignity, respect, and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors,

while doing so in a manner that is workable in light of subsequent changes. The

rule would also implement closely related provisions of the HSA and TVPRA.

Most prominently, the rule would create an alternative to the existing licensed

program requirement for family residential centers, so that ICE may use

appropriate facilities to detain family units together during their immigration

proceedings, consistent with applicable law.77

D. Committee efforts to achieve bipartisan support for reform.

Since the 1985 court cases began, the policy issues related to Flores and apprehended

alien children and families have largely been decided through litigation, court rulings, consent

decree, and executive action. Congress has not passed legislation to codify Flores, nor has it

passed legislation to supplant it.78 When U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee rejected the Trump

administration’s attempt to alter the 1997 agreement, she pointed to congressional inaction as a

cause for the ongoing legal challenges regarding Flores. She wrote, “[i]t is apparent that

Defendants’ Application is a cynical attempt, on an ex parte basis, to shift responsibility to the

Judiciary for over 20 years of Congressional inaction and ill-considered Executive action that

have led to the current stalemate.”79

On June 21, 2018, Senator Thom Tillis introduced the Keep Families Together and

Enforce the Law Act, legislation that would require the government to keep apprehended families

together while exempting DHS from the Flores reinterpretation requirement that it release alien

children who are accompanied by a parent within 20 days.80 Among other provisions, the

legislation would also establish legal guidelines for detaining families and would prioritize

accompanied minors and family units for immigration court proceedings.

81 On July 25, 2018,

Senator Tillis sought to pass the measure by unanimous consent on the Senate floor.82 Senator

Mazie Hirono objected, and the effort stalled.83

Chairman Ron Johnson, after consulting with Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues,

introduced the Fixing America’s Marred Immigration Laws to Improve and Ensure Security Act,

 77 Apprehension, Processing, Care, and Custody of Alien Minors and Unaccompanied Alien Children, 83 Fed. Reg.

45486-01 (proposed Sept. 7, 2018) (to be codified at 8 C.F.R. pt. 212 & 236, 45 CFR pt. 410), available at

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/07/2018-19052/apprehension-processing-care-and-custody-ofalien-minors-and-unaccompanied-alien-children. 78 Sarah Herman Peck & Ben Harrington, Cong. Research Serv., R45297, The "Flores Settlement" and Alien

Families Apprehended at the U.S. Border: Frequently Asked Questions (Sept. 17, 2018). 79 Order Den. Defs.’ “Ex Parte Application For Limited Relief From Settlement Agreement” at 7, Jenny L. Flores, et

al. v. Jefferson B. Sessions, III, et al, No. CV 85-4544-DMG (AGRx) (C.D. Cal. July 9, 2018). 80 Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act, S. 3093, 115th Cong. (2018), available at

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3093/text. 81 Id. 82 Jordain Carney, Family Separation Bills Blocked on Senate Floor, The Hill (July 25, 2018),

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/398842-family-separation-bills-blocked-on-senate-floor. 83 Id.
21

or the FAMILIES Act.

84 As introduced, the bill: requires DHS to keep parents and their

accompanied children together in family residential centers through the outcome of their

immigration proceedings; authorizes 1,000 beds for family units and 225 immigration judges;

requires the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and DHS to prioritize cases for families in DHS

custody; and requires watchdogs and relevant agencies to provide reports and statistics on

conditions of family detention centers, allegations of abuse, apprehensions, family reunification

efforts, asylum claims, removal orders, and unaccompanied alien children in HHS facilities. It

also codifies immigration information gathering and reporting requirements to help inform future

administrative and legislative action.

On August 1, 2018, Chairman Johnson hosted a Committee meeting to discuss the

challenges related to the current policy of “catch and release” at the southern border following

the reinterpretation of Flores.

85 On September 18, 2018, the Committee held a hearing titled The

Implications of the Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement Agreement for Border Security and

Illegal Immigration Incentives, featuring representatives of ICE, CBP, DOJ, and the Government

Accountability Office (“GAO”).

86

To obtain additional information for members, the Committee held 21 bipartisan

briefings for all Committee staff. These briefings included representatives from government

departments and agencies, including DHS, HHS, and DOJ, CBP (including both Border Patrol

and Office of Field Operations), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), ICE

(including both Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”) and Homeland Security

Investigations (“HSI”)), and DHS’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (“CRCL”). 

Committee staff received briefings from nonpartisan government watchdogs and experts,

including GAO, the DHS Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), and Congressional Research

Services (“CRS”). Committee staff also spoke with two former secretaries of homeland security,

Jeh Johnson and Michael Chertoff, as well as other former government officials, including a

former immigration judge and contractors to CRCL. The Committee also received briefings from

a range of experts and organizations, including an ATD contractor, GeoCare, the Institute for

Defense Analyses (“IDA”), Washington, D.C. Pretrial Services, the American Association of

Pediatrics, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. 

 84 The FAMILIES Act, S. 3478 (115th Cong.), available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senatebill/3478.

85 Member Meeting, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs (Aug. 1, 2018). 86 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement, supra note 21.
22

II. KEY FACTS AND DATA IDENTIFIED BY THE COMMITTEE’S 

OVERSIGHT

To inform the Committee’s problem solving process, the majority staff presents the

following findings drawn from the Committee’s bipartisan oversight:

A. The Flores reinterpretation requires DHS to “catch and release” apprehended

families at the southern border, incentivizing more illegal immigration. The number

of family unit members apprehended by CBP since FY2012 has increased by a

staggering 864 percent, and the problem is only getting worse: In the first three

months of FY2019 alone, the number of family unit members apprehended was

reportedly 75,805, compared to 107,212 in all of FY2018.

DHS dating back to the Obama administration and non-partisan watchdogs at GAO have

testified that migrants are aware of U.S. immigration policies, such as the current policy of

“catch and release” for apprehended families.87 ICE officials briefed staff that migrants believe

that they will be released and provided with a notice to appear if they are apprehended at the

southern border with a child.88

Migrants also understand that they will have the opportunity to live and work in the

United States once they are released. According to ICE officials, defensive asylum applicants—

those applying after having been determined ineligible for asylum by USCIS or placed into

removal proceedings—are eligible to receive an employment authorization document after 180

days.89 Once living in the United States, alien children can enroll in public school90 and families

can access other social services such as emergency services through Medicaid.91

This catch and release policy for apprehended families creates strong incentives for adults

to enter the United States illegally with children, risking the dangerous journey to the United

States. In its arguments before the district court in 2015, the Obama administration provided

testimony from a Border Patrol agent that:

 87 Ongoing Migration from Central America: An Examination of FY2015 Apprehensions: Hearing before S. Comm.

on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs 114 Cong. (2015) (Statement of Kimberly Gianopoulos, Dir., Int’l

Affairs & Trade, and statement of Chris Cabrera, Border Patrol Agent, U.S. Customs & Border Protection). 88 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018) (notes on file with Comm. majority staff).

89 Id.; U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Exec. Office for Immigration Review, The 180-Day Asylum EAD

Clock Notice (May 9, 2017), available at

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Humanitarian/Refugees%20%26%20Asylum/Asylum/Asylum_Clo

ck_Joint_Notice_-_revised_05-10-2017.pdf.

90 Andorra Bruno, Cong. Research Serv., RL33863, Unauthorized Alien Students: Issues and “DREAM Act”

Legislation (2018), https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33863.pdf (CRS stated that “[u]nauthorized aliens in the United

States are able to receive free public education through high school”). 91 Alison Siskin, Cong. Research Serv., RL33809, Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy

Overview (2016), https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33809.pdf.
23

[F]amily units apprehended by Border Patrol . . . claimed that a principal motive

for entering the United States was to take advantage of the “permisos” that the

United States was granting to family units. The term “permiso” in this context is

used to refer to a Notice to Appear which permits aliens to depart the Border

Patrol station without detention . . . . While this impression [that the U.S.

government was planning to stop issuing “permisos” in June or July 2014] was

incorrect, it speaks to the understanding of the family units that detention, and the

ability to simply depart a Border Patrol station, factor strongly into their

determination on when and whether to cross into the United States . . . . Based on

my experience as a Border Patrol Agent, the use of detention has historically been

effective at deterring aliens (specifically aliens from countries other than Mexico)

from entering the United States through the South Texas region.92 

Secretary Johnson viewed family detention as an important tool in DHS’s toolbox to deter illegal

immigration.93 Following the Obama administration’s implementation of family detention, the

number of family units crossing the southern border went from 68,445 in FY2014 to 39,838 in

FY2015, a 41.8 percent decrease.

94

Then, from FY2016-FY2018—following the court rulings that forced the Obama

administration to abandon its family detention policy—the Border Patrol apprehended more than

260,000 family units crossing between the nation’s ports of entry.95 According to CBP, 107,212

people in family units crossed the southern border and were apprehended by the Border Patrol in

FY2018 alone—an increase of 169 percent from FY2015, the year of the Flores reinterpretation,

and a staggering 864 percent from FY2012.96

Because the United States has returned to a policy of catch and release, it is reasonable to

expect this number to continue to escalate in FY2019. Indeed, in the first three months of

FY2019 alone, the Border Patrol apprehended 75,805 family unit members.97

 92 Flores v. Johnson, 212 F. Supp. 3d at 875.

93 Tim Hains, Obama DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson: I Freely Admit We Detained Children, "It Was Necessary", Real Clear

Politics (June 24, 2018),

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/06/24/obama_dhs_sec_jeh_johnson_we_detained_children_it_was_ne

cessary.html.

94 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3; Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018, supra note 4.

95 Id. 96 Id. 97 Southwest Border Migration Data FY2019, supra note 14; Alan Gomez, Central American migrants keep heading

toward US, even as Trump focuses on stopping caravans, USA Today (Jan. 9, 2019),

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/09/migrant-caravan-trump-crackdown-has-not-slowed-flowfamilies-us/2523034002/.
24

B. The Flores reinterpretation, combined with limited detention facilities, has forced

ICE to release all families—including male-headed families traveling with teenage

girls—within days of apprehension and without sufficient screening for human

trafficking or child welfare. In other words, CBP and ICE do not have sufficient

time to determine if the adult male is the father or a sex trafficker, or whether the

teenage girl is his daughter or sex slave.

ICE officials briefed Committee staff on their inability to detain apprehended family units

with men as the head-of-household. Only one of ICE’s family residential centers, Berks Family

Residential Center in Pennsylvania, is designed to house adult men as heads of household with

minors.98 Berks Family Residential Center only has 96 beds and is located far from the southern

border.99 Another facility, Karnes County Residential Center in Texas, can hold up to 830 and

only recently became able to detain male-headed families.100 Additionally, family composition

severely limits the capacity of these facilities to accommodate male-headed families, and

particularly male-headed families with girls. This is because a male head of household that has a

female child must be housed separately from other families, reducing the maximum capacity of a

room from between 6 and 12 beds for multiple families to just as few as two beds for one

family.101 Due to this overall limited detention capacity, ICE’s policy is nearly automatic “catch

and release” for family units with men as heads of household.102

The problems related to this policy are compounded by document fraud and insufficient

time to perform background checks. ICE told staff that migrants obtain false birth certificates to

claim that an alien is related to a child when arriving in the United States.103 Migrants are told to

offer information consistent with the birth certificate to avoid suspicion.104 Given that there is no

picture on a birth certificate, the task of verifying migrant identities can be extremely difficult. 

CBP uses a number of strategies to verify documents and well trained agents also use intuition

and questioning to assess familial relationships.105 However, these tactics are not foolproof. 

CBP told staff that if there are no documents to prove familial relationship and there is no reason

to believe there is fraud or trafficking, CBP agents must take the word of the family and minor

that they are indeed a “bona fide” family unit.106 ICE told staff that it is further limited by the

 98 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018); E-mail from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Official, U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement, to Comm. majority staff (Sept. 12, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 99 Id. 100 U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Follow-Up Questions – HSGAC Berks Tour (Oct. 25, 2018) (on file

with Comm. staff). 101 U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, HSGAC Berks Tour (Oct. 18, 2018) (on file with Comm. staff). 102 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018). 103 E-mail from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Official, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to

Comm. majority staff (Sept. 12, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 104 Id. 105 E-mail from U.S. Customs & Border Patrol Official, U.S. Customs & Border Patrol, to Comm. majority staff

(Sept. 6, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 106 Briefing with U.S. Customs & Border Protection Official, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Sept. 10, 2018).
25

very brief time period that it can detain families with adult males.107 According to ICE, this

policy of quickly releasing adult male-headed households is becoming well known among

would-be migrants in Central America and among smugglers, leading to a significant increase in

illegal immigration by male-headed households.

108 See Figure 6 below.

Figure 6: USBP Southwest Border Apprehended Family Units by Gender of Lead, FY2016

through FY2018109

Quickly releasing male heads-of-household family units may have significant unintended

consequences, such as increasing the incentive for men to traffic or smuggle minors into the

country and endangering child welfare. ICE officials told staff that adult migrants are “renting”

or taking children from their homes to traffic them into the United States to take advantage of the

“catch and release” policy.110 DHS and its components have reported problems related to

transnational criminal organizations (“TCOs”) involved with human smuggling and trafficking.

Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen underscored how TCOs are benefiting financially from

these smuggling operations in testimony before Congress in May 2018: “To be clear — human

smuggling operations are lining the pockets of transnational criminals. They are not

humanitarian endeavors. Smugglers prioritize profit over people. And when aliens pay them to

get here, they are contributing $500 million a year — or more — to groups that are fueling

greater violence and instability in America and the region.”111

 107 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018); Briefing with Homeland Sec. Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29,

2018). 108 Id. 109 E-mail from U.S. Customs & Border Patrol Official, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, to Comm. majority staff

(Sept. 21, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 110 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018); Briefing with Homeland Sec. Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29,

2018). 111 Authorities and Resources Needed to Protect and Secure the United States: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on

Homeland Sec. and Governmental Affairs, 115 Cong. (2018) (Testimony of Kristjen Nielsen, Sec'y of Homeland

Sec.).
26

HSI officials briefed Committee staff on intelligence about how TCOs are exploiting the

Flores reinterpretation by smuggling people into the country.112 Cartels control the routes into

the United States and oversee the smuggling activities.113 About half of migrants are brought by

smugglers while the others are generally coached to cross illegally by family and social media.114 

Interviews with migrants indicate that they are told they will get “permisos” to be allowed to stay

if they reach the United States.115 All who cross must pay a tax to the cartels, which differs based

on where they are from. Migrants from Mexico pay as much as $2,000 while those from Central

America pay as much as $5,000.116 Aliens from Africa or Asia may pay as much as $10,000 to

cross.117 TCOs also smuggle criminals and key organized crime figures into the United States to

run their operations.118

HSI reported that some migrants smuggled into the United States are forced into sexual

slavery or other human trafficking conditions.119 For example, according to HSI, Chinese

migrants often do not pay smugglers, but rather serve as indentured servants for between one to

three years after their arrival.120 Their indentured servitude can sometimes be in the sex trade,

manual labor, or other businesses but is controlled by gangs or smuggling organizations in China

working with other criminal organizations from Mexico or the United States.121 ICE also told

staff that Flores is causing some of the smuggling, and migrants are often used as mules to

transport drugs or as a diversion for smuggling operations.122

An April 2018 CBP assessment confirmed that the number of apprehended illegal

immigrant family units that falsely claim a parental relationship is rising.123 The Committee is

already aware of one instance of an adult bringing a minor into the country who was not his child

and later being charged with crimes, including rape.124 In another unfortunate example, an illegal

alien with an outstanding warrant for homicide in Honduras unlawfully entered the United States

 112 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018); Briefing with Homeland Sec. Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29,

2018). 113 Id. 114 Briefing with Homeland Sec. Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29, 2018). 115 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018); Briefing with Homeland Sec. Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29,

2018) (in Spanish, “permisos” means permits, referring to a notice to appear in immigration court often

misperceived to mean that the immigrant is authorized to stay in the U.S.). 116 Id. 117 Id. 118 Briefing with Homeland Sec. Investigation Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 29, 2018). 119 Id. 120 Id. 121 Id. 122 Id. 123 E-mail from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officials to Comm. majority staff (Sept. 18, 2018, 5:00 PM)

(on file with Comm. majority staff). 124 In one publicly reported case, authorities in California charged a man with crimes, including rape, after he

entered the country illegally with a minor whom he claimed as his daughter and was released under the policy of

“catch and release” for illegal immigrant families. Stephen Dinan, Police Nab Illegal Immigrant 'Family' After Man

Found to have Raped Girl, Wash. Times (Aug. 7, 2018),

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/aug/7/illegal-immigrant-family-nabbed-after-man-found-ha/.
27

near McAllen, Texas with a minor child in May 2018.125 He and the child were released and they

moved to Massachusetts.126 CBP reportedly was not aware of the arrest warrant at the time of the

alien’s apprehension.127 The United States later determined that the alien used fraudulent

documents to convince a U.S. court that he was no longer wanted for homicide in Honduras.

128

He is now back in ICE custody and in removal proceedings.129 

C. In FY2018, the United States determined that more than 75 percent of illegal aliens

had a “credible fear” of returning home—halting their removal while the case

proceeds—yet less than 21 percent of those who applied for asylum ultimately

received it.

When members of apprehended families are released from ICE custody, they are placed

on the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) non-detained docket and given a

notice to appear. An apprehended illegal alien can claim to have a credible fear of returning

home at any point during his or her adjudication and removal proceedings.130 If credible fear is

established, the alien is entitled to a hearing to determine whether he or she is eligible for

asylum. This legal process can take years, during which time the individual can remain in the

United States.

After CBP apprehends an illegal alien and places him or her in expedited removal

proceedings, the alien may claim asylum as a defense against removal.131 Under the Convention

Against Torture and U.S. law, an alien seeking this form of asylum may claim they have a

“credible fear” of persecution or torture if they return to their home country.132 According to

USCIS: 

An individual will be found to have a credible fear of persecution if he or she

establishes that there is a “significant possibility” that he or she could establish in

a full hearing before an Immigration Judge that he or she has been persecuted or

has a well-founded fear of persecution or harm on account of his or her race,

 125 Eric Rasmussen and Jason Solowski, 25 Investigates: Honduran Murder Suspect Enters U.S. Illegally, Moves to

Mass., Boston 25 News (Nov. 12, 2018), https://www.boston25news.com/news/25-investigates-honduran-murdersuspect-enters-us-illegally-moves-to-mass/868702410; Telephone interview with whistleblower (July 15, 2018)

(notes on file with Comm. majority staff). 126 Id. 127 Id.; Telephone Interview with U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, U.S. Customs and Border Protection

(July 25, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 128 Eric Rasmussen, supra note 125. 129 Id. 130 Note, the one-year limitation still applies. An individual claiming defensive asylum must apply for asylum within

one year of the “alien’s arrival in the United States.” 8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)(B); see also U.S. Citizenship &

Immigration Services, Obtaining Asylum in the United States (last updated Oct. 19, 2015),

https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/asylum/obtaining-asylum-united-states. 131 U.S. Citizen & Immigration Services, Obtaining Asylum in the United States (last updated Oct. 19, 2015),

https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/asylum/obtaining-asylum-united-states. Defensive asylum

occurs in three ways, 1) when the alien was apprehended at the border trying to enter illegally, 2) in the United

States without proper documentation or “in violation of their immigration status,” or 3) at the end of the affirmative

asylum process. Id. 132 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Credible Fear FAQ, https://www.uscis.gov/faq-page/credible-fear-faq.
28

religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion

if returned to his or her country.133

The individual can satisfy the “significant possibility” standard by showing only “a 10 percent

chance” that the individual will be persecuted if returned to his or her home country.

134 Once this

low threshold is met, the United States may not deport the alien until an immigration court has

considered his or her asylum claim,135 a process that can take years.

According to GAO, the average case completion time for a non-detained case took 535

days in 2015.136 ICE officials told the Committee that it could take as long as three to five years

for non-detained cases to be completed.137 Figure 7, below, shows that wait times for

immigration court in some large United States cities exceed three years.

Figure 7: Immigration Court Wait Times in Select U.S. Cities, as of April 2017138

Comparing figures 8 and 9, below, shows that many aliens claim credible fear when they

do not have a legitimate fear of persecution, allowing them to remain in the United States for

years while their case is processed. From FY2009 to FY2018, the average asylum grant rate per

 133 Id. 134 INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421 (1987). 135 See 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1)(A)(ii) and § 1225(b)(1)(B)(ii). 136 U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO-17-438, Actions Needed to Reduce Case Backlog and Address LongStanding Management and Operational Challenges (2017), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/685022.pdf. 137 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018). 138 Trac Immigration, Despite Hiring, Immigration Court Backlog and Wait Times Climb, Syracuse University (May

15, 2017), http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/468/.
29

year ranged between a low of 17.6 percent in FY2016 to a high of 32.1 percent in 2011.139 In

FY2018, the asylum grant rate was 20.9 percent.140

Figure 8: Percent of All Referred Cases Where Credible Fear Was Found141

Figure 9: Asylum Decision Rates142

D. From FY2015-FY2018, only 7 percent of non-detained illegal immigrant families

were removed from the United States; conversely, 77 percent of detained illegal

immigrant families were removed.

Once put on the non-detained docket, most illegal immigrants will remain in the country

even after they receive a final removal order. The Institute for Defense Analyses (“IDA”), a notfor-profit organization that runs Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers,

conducted an analysis of the outcomes of people apprehended in 2014.143 IDA found that seven

percent of family unit members who were released from detention but were present for their final

hearings and ordered removed were actually removed from the country.144

 139 U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Exec. Office for Immigration Review Adjudication Statistics, Asylum Decision Rates

(2018), available at https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1104861/download. 140 Id. 141 U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Credible Fear Reasonable Fear Statistics Nationality Reports (2017-

2018), available at

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Outreach/Upcoming%20National%20Engagements/FY18CFandRF

stats_2018_06_30.pdf.

142 Id. 143 John Whitley, Dennis Kuo, Ethan Novak & Brian Rieksts, Describing the Adjudication Process for Unlawful

Non-Traditional Migrants, Institute for Defense Analyses (June 2017) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 144 Id.
30

Figure 10: Removal Rates by Detained vs Not Detained145

Only one percent of family unit members who were not detained and not present for their final

hearing and ordered removed were actually removed from the country.146 

ICE reported that its non-detained docket currently stands at about 2.6 million people, of

which about 1 million people remain in the country in defiance of final removal orders.147 More

than 500,000 of these immigrants are considered fugitives by the agency.148 ICE told the

committee that whether aliens on the non-detained docket adhere to removal orders largely

depends on the actions of the alien.149 A senior ICE official stated that “immigrants on the non-

 145 Id. 146 E-mail from Researcher, Institute for Defense Analyses, to Comm. majority staff (Sept. 14, 2018) (on file with

Comm. majority staff). IDA explained that there were several possible reasons why a detained alien may not be

removed after their final hearing: “It may not have been possible to get travel orders for some detained [family

units]—some countries may have refused to recognize the person as their national, or simply refused to accept their

return. Some migrants may have appealed the immigration judge's removal order, and the appeal was in process

with the [Board of Immigration Appeals].” Id. 147 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018). 148 Telephone Interview with Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement & Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration & Customs

Enforcement (Sept. 11, 2018) (notes on file with Comm. majority staff).

149 ICE explained to Committee majority staff that, given the limited resources that exists to apprehend fugitive

aliens, non-criminal aliens adherence to removal orders that are on the non-detained docket is either based on the

desire of the alien to comply or random chance ICE apprehends that alien in an enforcement action or the alien is

detained for another criminal action. These latter two instances are very rare. See Briefing with Enforcement &

Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7, 2018) (notes on file with Comm.

majority staff).
31

detained docket are basically assured of not being removed unless they want to be removed,” as

long as they do not commit a crime, due to resource constraints and enforcement priorities.150 

Conversely, data show that detention is an effective tool in ensuring that illegal

immigrants adhere to final orders of removal. The IDA found that among people apprehended in

2014, 77 percent of members of family units who were detained, present for their final hearing,

and ordered removed were actually removed from the country.151 See Figure 10 above.

E. ATD as currently implemented by ICE have not proved effective in ensuring that

aliens whose asylum claims are denied are available for removal.

ICE has used ATD, including electronic monitoring, for certain aliens while they are on

the non-detained docket to try to increase attendance at court proceedings. Although aliens have

a high court attendance rate while on ATD, available data suggests ATD is not an effective tool

to ensure that aliens whose asylum claims are denied adhere to final orders of removal.

ICE estimated that aliens’ court attendance rates while on ATD were between 97 and 99

percent.152 Separately, a GAO report found that 99 percent of aliens attended court proceedings

while on one “full service” ATD program.153 However, both GAO and ICE cautioned that there

is insufficient data to inform whether ATD is an effective mechanism for ensuring that aliens

comply with final removal orders.

154 Aliens have an incentive to attend court hearings when they

may still receive immigration benefits or relief, but they do not have an incentive to adhere to

final removal orders.155 

The DHS OIG has studied ATD, including a specific ATD program that involves GPS

monitoring, phone check-ins, curfews, and intensive case management. The DHS OIG’s

examination of the ATD pilot program found that ICE is unable to “definitively determine”

whether this ATD program “has reduced the rate at which aliens, who were once in the program

but who are no longer participating, have absconded or been arrested for criminal acts,” in part

since the agency does not track the participants throughout the duration of their removal

proceedings.156

 150 Id. 151 John Whitley, supra note 17; see also E-mail from Researcher, Institute for Defense Analyses, to Comm.

majority staff (Sept. 14, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 152 Id. 153 U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO-15-26, Alternatives to Detention: Improved Data Collection and

Analyses Needed to Better Assess Program Effectiveness (2014), available at

https://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666911.pdf.

154 Id. 155 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018); Telephone Interview with Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement & Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration &

Customs Enforcement (Sept. 11, 2018) (notes on file with Comm. majority staff). 156 U.S. Dep’t Homeland Security, OIG-15-22, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Alternatives to

Detention (2015), available at https://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2015/OIG_15-22_Feb15.pdf.
32

Many aliens’ court proceedings continue long after the alien leaves the ATD program.157

The typical duration of an alien’s time participating in an ATD program lasts about one and a

half years,158 yet the average immigration court completion time for a person on the nondetained docket can last between three to five years.159 ICE only has the ability to include 85,000

aliens in ATD at any time.160 Accordingly, the agency cycles aliens out of the ATD program as

new aliens arrive.161 This is a significant challenge for determining the effectiveness of the

program.

Moreover, data provided by ICE show that, on average, approximately one in five aliens

participating in ATD abscond. See Figure 11, below. Members of apprehended family units are

more likely to abscond than the general population. In FY2018, the absconding rate for the

general population of illegal aliens was 23.1 percent and the rate for members of family units

was 28.4 percent.162 As ICE Executive Associate Director Matthew Albence testified before the

Committee: “Nearly three in ten family units are cutting off their ankle bracelets at the beginning

of the process, when they have been released from our custody within days and weeks.”163

Figure 11: Absconding Rates While Enrolled in Alternatives to Detention, Overall

Population vs. Members of Apprehended Family Units (FY2016 through FY2018)164

 157 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018). 158 Id.

159 Id. 160 Id. (ICE provided a breakdown of the number of aliens served by different types of ATD monitoring, including

36,000 aliens on GPS, 45,000 on telephonic, and 3,000 on a facial recognition program on smart phone devices

called smart link). 161 Id. 162 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018).

163 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement, supra note 21. 164 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018).
33

F. The median adjudication time for initial case completion for an alien in detention

has increased from 8 days in FY2008 to 40 days in FY2018.

The U.S. government does not provide an estimate for the average length of adjudication

times for aliens in detention and, therefore, on the detained docket. Available government

estimates vary. The DOJ reports that it completes 91 percent of all detained docket cases within

six months.165 The median timeline is significantly shorter than six months. In FY2018, the

median completion time for detained cases was 40 days, up from just 8 days in FY2008.

166

Figure 12: Median Completion Times for Detained Cases, FY2008-FY2018167

 165 U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Exec. Office of Immigration Review: Percentage of DHS-Detained Cases Completed

Within Six Months (July 6, 2018), available at https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1083216/download. 166 U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Exec. Office of Immigration Review: Median Completion Times (in Days) for Detained

Cases (2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 167 Id.
34

However, GAO presented data to the Committee that highlight the challenge of trying to

extrapolate an average time in detention based on the median. GAO’s data, contained in Figure

13, below, shows a breakdown of the number of days that detained immigration court cases have

been pending at the beginning of the fiscal year, from FY2006 to FY2015. The data provide a

snapshot of the length of time that aliens’ cases had been pending at that specific moment in

time. In 2015, the median number of days was 28 days, the mean was 84, and the maximum was

5,642.168 Staff asked ICE for an explanation about why a detainee would remain in custody for

as long as 5,642 days.169 To date, ICE has not provided an explanation to staff.

Figure 13: Detained Immigration Court Cases Days Until Initial Completion170

G. ICE is meeting Flores requirements for humane and safe standards, but the

requirement that detainees live in state-licensed facilities creates significant

challenges.

ICE officials told Committee staff that all ICE family residential centers adhere to

humane and safe standards that deal with the delicate nature of detaining families.171 Flores set

minimum standards of care for minors in custody, which have been included in the new

regulations proposed by DHS and HHS.172 Beyond the food, water, toilets and sinks that are

provided as a matter of course, the standards include living quarters that have reasonable

temperature controls and ventilation, as well as recreational and educational activities for the

children.

173

A DHS OIG report from 2017 confirms that ICE is complying with applicable standards. 

The report of OIG’s spot inspections of ICE family detention centers found that “[d]uring our

July 2016 unannounced spot inspections of ICE’s three family detention facilities, we observed

conditions that generally met ICE’s 2007 Family Residential Standards.”174 The OIG further

explained, “The facilities were clean, well-organized, and efficiently run. Based on our

 168 E-mail from Dir., Homeland Sec. and Justice, Government Accountability Office, to Comm. majority staff (Aug.

17, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff). 169 Id. 170 Id. 171 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018). 172 Stipulated Settlement Agreement at 6, Flores, et al. v. Reno, No. CV 85-4544-RJK(Px), 2014 WL 7152078,

available at https://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/IM-CA-0002-0005.pdf. 173 Id. 174 U.S. Dep’t Homeland Security, OIG-17-65, Results of Office of Inspector General FY 2016 Spot Inspections of

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Family Detention Facilities (2017), available at

https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2017/OIG-17-65-Jun17.pdf.
35

observations, interviews, and document reviews, we concluded that, at all three facilities, ICE

was satisfactorily addressing the inherent challenges of providing medical care and language

services and ensuring the safety of families in detention.”175 DHS OIG further stated that

“[m]edical care at all three facilities was readily available, followed up on as needed, and was

well documented.176

In addition, Committee staff conducted delegation trips to visit and conduct oversight of

family detention facilities in Texas and Pennsylvania in 2018. Staff observed that the family

residential centers in Texas and Pennsylvania do not resemble a jail; families are able to roam the

facility and access the multiple recreation areas or libraries at their leisure.177 Staff observed

bedrooms, bathrooms, classrooms, medical units, cafeterias, libraries, court rooms or designated

areas for interviews with asylum officers or legal services, recreation areas, a hair salon, a mini

market, and child care facilities at the family residential centers.178 Staff learned in most cases

when a resident is kept beyond 20 days it is due to a pending case, the resident hasn’t secured

travel arrangements to sponsors’ location, or the resident claims credible fear toward the end of

his or her stay at the facility.179 

A major challenge facing ICE is the Flores requirement that family residential centers be

licensed by the state. According to a recent regulation issued by DHS about family detention, the

state-licensing regime has created severe operational constraints for family residential centers

because “many States did not have, and have not succeeded in putting in place, licensing

schemes governing facilities that hold family units together.”180 According to DHS, “the lack of

state licensing for [family residential centers] and the release requirements for minors, have

effectively prevented the Government from using family detention for more than a limited period

of time, and in turn often led to the release of families.”181

The Trump administration has proposed an alternative approach: “a federal licensing

process” to “provide similar substantive protections regarding the conditions of such facilities,

and thus implement the underlying purpose of the state-licensing requirement.”182

 175 Id. 176 Id. 177 U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Follow-up Questions – HSGAC Berks Tour (2018) (on file with

Comm. majority staff). 178 Id.

179 Id. 180 Apprehension, Processing, Care, and Custody of Alien Minors and Unaccompanied Alien Children, 83 Fed. Reg.

45486-01 (proposed Sept. 7, 2018) (to be codified at 8 C.F.R. pt. 212 & 236, 45 CFR pt. 410), available at

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/07/2018-19052/apprehension-processing-care-and-custody-ofalien-minors-and-unaccompanied-alien-children. 181 Id. 182 Id.
36

H. Push factors in Central America such as high crime and murder rates, gang

extortion, drug cartel brutality, and lack of economic opportunity play a significant

role in migrants’ decision to make the dangerous journey to the United States.

Officials from DHS told the Committee that both push and pull factors impact migrants’

decision to come to the United States. Acting Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez of CBP stated

that migrants “are often driven by so-called ‘push factors,’ such as violent conditions in the

country of origin, or ‘pull factors,’ such as immigration loopholes that increase the probability of

being released into the interior of the United States.”183 Former Homeland Security Secretary

Michael Chertoff told Committee staff that push factors would continue to affect illegal

immigration: “During my tenure, we saw largely economic migrants. I think it is one thing to

deter a person looking to move for a better job. It's another to deter a person who wants to move

because they are afraid of getting shot. Deterrence is not going to be effective in that

situation.”184

An April 2018 CBP intelligence report cited both push factors such as crime and violence

and pull factors, such as economic opportunity and lax enforcement and detention policies, that

drive family unit migration to the southern border.185 CBP assessed that family unit migration

will continue absent significant reform of U.S. immigration law.186

 183 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement (statement of Robert E. Perez, Acting Deputy Comm’r, U.S. Border

Patrol), supra note 21. 184 Telephone Interview with former Secretary Chertoff (Sept. 4, 2018). 185 (U) U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Intelligence Bulletin, Spotlight: Family Unit Alien Migration Trends,

(Apr. 12, 2018) (on file with the Comm. majority staff). 186 Id.
37

III. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND OVERSIGHT NEEDED

Committee staff also identified areas where additional information and oversight is

needed to help resolve potential areas of disagreement to achieve a non-partisan solution. This is

informed by members’ statements and lines of questioning at the September 18, 2018 hearing,

and questions raised through the Committee’s oversight and staff briefings.

A. How long would apprehended families need to be detained if the law was changed to

restore the Obama administration’s policy to allow for family detention beyond 20

days? Or stated another way, what would be a reasonable time limit for families to

be detained?

Several members of the Committee have raised concerns that modifying the law to allow

ICE to detain families beyond 20 days would allow for the “indefinite detention” of families and

children. For example, former Ranking Member Claire McCaskill stated at the September 18,

2018 hearing:

I will say this unequivocally: We do not have enough facts to even consider

indefinite detention of families—even if it were the right thing to do, which I do

not think it is. We do not know enough. We do not know what it would cost. We

do not know how many beds would be needed. We do not know how long the

average detention would be. There is simply not enough information to consider

indefinite detention.187

Senator Maggie Hassan also spoke strongly about her concern regarding potential indefinite

detention of children: “What this comes down to for me is whether the Federal government

should be keeping children in detention indefinitely while waiting for a judge to review their

case . . . that is, frankly, not who we are as a country, and it is not what the United States should

become.”188

Chairman Johnson concurred that he was not interested in establishing a policy of

indefinite detention: “I do not want to see indefinite detention. I do not think that is what we are

asking. What we are saying is . . . give ICE the ability to detain longer than 20 days so that they

do not have to make a gut-wrenching decision: is that the father or is that the sex trafficker? Is

that his daughter or is that the victim? Because they cannot determine parentage in 20 days.”189

In briefings with DHS, Committee staff sought to determine how allowing family

detention beyond 20 days would affect the case completion timelines for cases on the detained

docket. EOIR officials explained that the detained docket wait times are not affected by adding

new cases to the docket: EOIR shifts resources from the non-detained docket to the detained

docket to meet the needs of the detained docket and prioritize certain cases.190 

 187 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement (statement of Sen. Claire McCaskill), supra note 21. 188 Id. (statement of Sen. Maggie Hassan).

189 Id. (statement of Chairman Ron Johnson).

190 Briefing with Exec. Office for Immigration Review Official, Dep’t of Justice (Aug. 10, 2018) (notes on file with

Comm. majority staff).
38

DHS officials also told the Committee that allowing family detention would not lead to

“indefinite” detention. The executive associate director for ICE’s ERO explained: “There is no

indefinite detention in the ICE detention portfolio just as there is no indefinite detention in the

pre-trial criminal proceedings. There is [a] determinant amount of time that some will stay in

custody over the course of their proceedings.”191 DHS and immigration judges still have

discretion to release an alien subject to compliance with certain conditions.192 Currently, the only

aliens who are subject to mandatory detention are criminal aliens who fall under the categories in

INA 236(c), including convictions for aggravated felonies, crimes of moral turpitude, possession

of drug, and terrorism or national security concerns.193 The Supreme Court has held that the

government cannot detain anyone longer than six months post-final order of removal unless the

person is a national security threat.194

Moreover, with current bed capacity, ICE can only detain 37 percent of family units

apprehended.195 Without a substantial increase in family residential centers, ICE would still be

unable to detain the vast majority of apprehended families.196 The remaining family units would

still be released and given a notice to appear.

The Committee has requested more information from ICE and DOJ regarding the period

of time that families would potentially be detained during the course of their immigration court

proceedings, and, if Congress were to place a cap on the length of time that a family could be

detained beyond 20 days, what an appropriate period of time might be. In addition, Congress

should understand what mechanisms would be available to aliens to extend their court

proceedings beyond the period of time that they are in detention, if a timeline were established,

to ensure the process cannot be manipulated.

B. What additional resources, including bed space, judges, government lawyers, and

others, would be required to swiftly move families through immigration court

proceedings so that the agreed upon time limit could be adhered to? 

One potential area of agreement that members of the Committee discussed was the need

for more resources for immigration court proceedings, ranging from judges and immigration

enforcement lawyers to electronic records and case management system for immigration

court.197 

Members of the Committee appeared to agree on the need for additional judges to reduce

the immigration court backlog. EOIR told the Committee that to reduce the backlog, it would

 191 Telephone Interview with Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement & Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration & Customs

Enforcement (Sept. 11, 2018) (notes on file with Comm. majority staff).

192 Id.

193 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) (1996); 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (2012).

194 Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 700–01, 121 S. Ct. 2491, 2504–05 (2001).

195 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018). 196 Id. 197 See id.
39

need to be fully staffed at 700 judges.198 DOJ also discussed the need for immigration lawyers

and court space.199

Members of the Committee also discussed the need for additional information regarding

the amount of bed space that would be needed to detain more families if the Flores agreement

was modified to allow for detention for some period beyond 20 days.200 The FAMILIES Act and

the Keeping Families Together While Enforcing the Law Act proposed 1,000 additional bed

spaces, in part due to concern about potential costs. It is clear from the Committee’s oversight,

however, that this number is inadequate. CBP and ICE told Committee staff that the agencies

would need an additional 15,000 beds to hold all family units for 30 days and 30,000 beds to

hold all family units for 60 days.201 DHS’s own estimates appear to be conservative given the

high volume of aliens crossing the border illegally. The Committee would benefit from

additional information from DHS to address this information gap. 

C. What would it cost to implement ATD in a manner that ensures that aliens would be

returned to custody for removal, and how would that compare with detention costs?

Members of the Committee discussed the relative costs and effectiveness of detention

versus ATD to encourage compliance with immigration court proceedings. ICE Executive

Associate Director Albence testified at the hearing that “[a]lternatives to [d]etention are a fairly

effective tool at getting people to appear at some or all of their immigration court proceedings. It

is a woefully ineffective tool at actually allowing ICE to effectuate a removal order issued by an

immigration judge.”202

GAO and ICE provided data related to the cost of ATD compared to detention. GAO told

Committee staff that it costs $158 per day to detain an adult alien versus $10.55 per day for

ATD. According to DHS’s FY2018 Budget Justification, “an average daily rate for family beds

can be calculated by dividing the total funding requirement of $291.4 million by the projected

ADP of 2,500 for a rate of $319.37.”203 The cost per bed per day fluctuates based on occupancy.

According to GAO, ATD becomes more costly than detention over time, since adjudication

times on the non-detained docket are longer than the detained docket.204 GAO informed staff that

 198 Id.; Briefing with Dep’t of Justice Official, Dep’t of Justice Exec. Office for Immigration Review, in Wash. D.C.

(Aug. 10, 2018).

199 See HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement, supra note 21. 200 Id. 201 Briefing with Enforcement & Removal Operations Official, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Aug. 7,

2018).

202 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement (statement of Matthew Albence, Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement and

Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), supra note 21. 203 Dep’t of Homeland Sec., U.S. Immigration & Customs: Budget Overview Fiscal Year 2018 Congressional

Justification, available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ICE%20FY18%20Budget.pdf. 204 E-mail from Dir., Homeland Sec. & Justice, Government Accountability Office, to Comm. majority staff (Sept.

14, 2018) (on file with Comm. majority staff).
40

ATD becomes more costly than adult detention around 435 days.205 ICE told the Committee that

ATD becomes more costly around 743 days.206

In addition to providing per-day estimates for costs related to ATD, ICE provided a cost

analysis of the number of removals effected with participants in the ATD program. ICE said it

spent $183 million on ATD programs in FY2017, which, according to ICE, led to 2,430

removals.207 This amounts to a cost of more than $75,000 per removal related to ATD.208 Acting

Associate Director Albence testified that the number of ATD participants removed in FY2017

amounted to only 1 percent of ICE’s removals during FY2017.209

The Committee would benefit from additional data regarding ATD’s effectiveness at

ensuring that aliens are returned to custody for removal if their asylum claim is denied.

Additionally, the Committee would benefit from cost-benefit estimates for the length of

projected family detention if Flores was modified as compared to long-term use of ATD for

family unit members from start to finish of the immigration adjudication process. 

D. What are the long-term implications for children placed in detention: a)

unaccompanied; or b) detained with at least one parent? 

Several members of the Committee raised strong concerns about the quality of care in

detention and the potential long-term implications of detention for children. For example,

Senator Gary Peters explained that he thought the Committee’s top priority should be “the

welfare and care of children in the process,” and pointed to “a host of medical organizations,

including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians,

the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and on and on, to

name a few, have all concluded that there is irreparable physical and mental harm done to

children who are placed in detention.”210

 205 Id. (“We conducted our analysis using two scenarios. Under our first analysis, we considered the average costs of

ATD and detention and the average length of time aliens in detention spent awaiting an immigration judge’s final

decision, and found that the ATD program would have surpassed the cost of detention after an alien was in the

program for 1,229 days in fiscal year 2013—significantly longer than the average length of time aliens spent in the

ATD program in this year (383 days). In our second analysis, we considered the average costs of ATD and

detention and the average length of time aliens spent in detention—regardless of whether they had received a final

decision from an immigration judge—since some aliens may not be in immigration proceedings or may not have

reached their final hearing before ICE released them from detention. ICE reported that the average length of time

that an alien was in detention in fiscal year 2013 was 29 days. Using this average, we calculated the average length

of time aliens could have stayed in the ATD program before they surpassed the cost of detention would have been

435 days in fiscal year 2013.”). 206 Interview with Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement & Removal Operations, Immigration & Customs Enforcement

(Sept. 12, 2018) (notes on file with Comm. majority staff). 207 Oversight of Immigration Enforcement and Family Reunification Efforts Hearing before S. Comm. on Judiciary.

115th Cong. (2018) (statement of Matthew Albence, Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement & Removal Operations, U.S.

Immigration & Customs Enforcement). 208 Id.

209 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement (statement of Matthew Albence, Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement &

Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement), supra note 21. 210 Id. (statement of Sen. Gary Peters).
41

In 2016, the DHS Advisory Committee’s Report on Family Residential Centers’ first

recommendation strongly warned against family detention: 

DHS’s immigration enforcement practices should operationalize the presumption

that detention is generally neither appropriate nor necessary for families – and that

detention or the separation of families for purposes of immigration enforcement

or management, or detention is never in the best interest of children. DHS should

discontinue the general use of family detention, reserving it for rare cases when

necessary following an individualized assessment of the need to detain because of

danger or flight risk that cannot be mitigated by conditions of release.211

The Advisory Committee’s members include organizations that have been vocal in opposition to

family detention, including the aforementioned American Academy of Pediatrics.212 

The Committee would benefit from additional information about the long-term

implications for children placed in detention, including looking at the impact of children detained

alone (unaccompanied alien children) as compared to those detained with at least one parent.

E. To what extent are smugglers and traffickers exploiting DHS’s policy of “catch and

release” for apprehended families to smuggle and/or traffic people, including

unrelated minors, into the country?

The Committee would benefit from additional data and information regarding the extent

to which human smugglers and traffickers are exploiting the “catch and release” policy for

family units at the border. For example, Senator Kamala Harris stated at the hearing: “I have

asked repeatedly for information on the number and status of any cases, if they exist, where your

agency [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has referred an adult who accompanied a child

for prosecution for trafficking, and I have still not received that information.”213Acting Associate

Director Albence cited data about overall HSI human trafficking investigations and arrests, but

did not provide specific data about the number of those cases that were directly related to adults

and minors apprehended as family units.214 ICE and the Department should provide the

Committee with this information. In addition, the Department and its components should provide

relevant intelligence and data related to the extent that human trafficking or smuggling is related

to family apprehensions and the current policy of “catch and release.” 

 211 Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Report of the DHS Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers (2016),

available at https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report/2016/ACFRC-sc-16093.pdf. 212 See U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers (last

updated Jan. 3, 2018), available at https://www.ice.gov/acfrc. 213 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement (statement of Sen. Kamala Harris), supra note 21. 214 Id. (statement of Matthew Albence, Exec. Assoc. Dir., Enforcement & Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration &

Customs Enforcement).
42

IV. CONCLUSION

Both the Obama and Trump administrations have described the migration of families and

children to the southern border as a humanitarian crisis that poses significant challenges for the

Department and border security. When it petitioned the court for an expedited hearing on the

reinterpretation of Flores in 2015, the Obama administration argued: “Past experience has shown

the Government that it will be difficult to have and maintain a firm and humane response to the

challenge of mass family migration, if we do not have the legal authority and nimbleness to

strike the right balance in the face of a constantly changing landscape.”215 It further warned that

the court’s requirement “would almost certainly require the Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) to divert substantial resources away from other critical immigration, humanitarian,

national security, and border security-related operations.”216 

Years later, Department officials continue to stress the challenge that humanely

processing arriving families and children place on its personnel and resources. Testifying before

the Committee, Acting Deputy CBP Commissioner Perez stated, “the national security mission,

the trade and travel mission, the drug interdiction mission, the trade enforcement mission—all

critical missions that are taxed, if you will, by the surge in migrants.”217

Since court rulings ended the Obama administration’s family detention policy in 2015,

more than 260,000 people in family units have crossed the southern border and been

apprehended by Border Patrol.218 Recent trends—including data for the first three months of

FY2019—show that the United States will continue to see increasing levels of people migrating

to the southern border as families, and an increasing number of family units headed by men. The

vast majority of the apprehended and released family members will likely join the millions of

people living in the United States illegally.

Our Committee will continue to gather information about these important issues and

work through legislation to fix the Flores agreement and other legal loopholes that contribute to

our horribly broken immigration system. 

 215 Mot. Pursuant to Circuit Rules 27-12 and 34-3 to Expedite Briefing and Hr’g Schedule for Appeal at 6, Flores v.

Lynch, 828 F.3d 898, 901 (9th Cir. 2016). 216 Id. at 3. 217 HSGAC Hearing on Flores Settlement (statement of Robert E. Perez, Acting Deputy Comm’r, U.S. Border

Patrol), supra note 21. 218 DHS Border Metrics Report, supra note 3; Southwest Border Apprehension Data FY2017-FY2018 (staff

calculations based on data) supra note 4.