Secure Communities by the Numbers: New Analysis of Deportation Practices

Secure Communities by the Numbers: An Analysis of Demographics and Due Process
By Aarti Kohli, Peter L. Markowitz and Lisa Chavez
Key Findings Include:
• Approximately 3,600 United States citizens have been arrested by ICE through the Secure Communities program;
• More than one-third (39%) of individuals arrested through Secure Communities report that they have a U.S. citizen spouse or child, meaning that approximately 88,000 families with U.S. citizen members have been impacted by Secure Communities;
• Latinos comprise 93% of individuals arrested through Secure Communities though they only comprise 77% of the undocumented population in the United States;
• Only 52% of individuals arrested through Secure Communities are slated to have a hearing before an immigration judge;
• Only 24% of individuals arrested through Secure Communities and who had immigration hearings had an attorney compared to 40% of all immigration court respondents who have counsel;
• Only 2% of non-citizens arrested through Secure Communities are granted relief from deportation by an immigration judge as compared to 14% of all immigration court respondents who are granted relief;
• A large majority (83%) of people arrested through Secure Communities is placed in ICE detention as compared with an overall DHS immigration detention rate of 62%, and ICE does not appear to be exercising discretion based on its own prioritization system when deciding whether or not to detain an individual.
The complete report is available here.
UC San Diego, May 15, 2015