It has been found that as many as 500 immigrants are being held in ICE detention facilities in the New York City area.
According to ICE Detention Statistics, as of the 7th, the average daily detention population (ADP) in the five immigration detention facilities in the New York City area was 492.The average daily number of inmates by detention facility was highest at Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey with 276, followed by Orange County Detention Center in New York with 113, Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey with 89, Nassau County Detention Center in New York with 10, and Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center with 4.According to these statistics, most of the inmates in immigration detention facilities have no criminal records.
In the case of Elizabeth Detention Center, which has the largest number of inmates, those classified as “no ICE threat level” without a criminal record, or about 90% of the total inmates, were classified.
Among the inmates in Elizabeth Detention Center, five were classified as “Level 1 threats,” which is the highest level of criminal severity, eight were classified as “Level 2 threats,” and 13 were classified as “Level 3 threats.”
In the case of the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, which has been the subject of numerous controversies, including inmate escapes, since it began operating in May, 95% of the total inmates were classified as “no ICE threat level” with no criminal records.
In the Orange County Detention Center in New York State, 74 inmates, or about 65% of the inmates, were classified as “no ICE threat level,” while 13 were classified as “level 1 threats,” 13 as “level 2 threats,” and 13 as “level 3 threats.” Meanwhile, the Associated Press analyzed ICE detention statistics and reported that as of the 29th of last month, a total of 57,861 people were detained in ICE detention centers across the U.S., and of these, 41,495, or about 71%, had not been convicted of a criminal offense.
According to the AP, only 7% of those detained in 201 detention facilities across the U.S. were classified as Level 1 threats, 4% as Level 2 threats, and 5% as Level 3 threats. In response, Lauren Brook Eisen, senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice, argued, “President Donald Trump has justified his hard-liner immigration policies based on the claim that immigrants drive violent crime in the United States, but there is no research or evidence to support this claim.”
However, Tricia McLaughlin, Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, strongly refuted the claim, saying, “The claim that ICE does not target immigrants with criminal records is false,” and “Secretary of Homeland Security Christie Noem has directed ICE to target the worst criminals, including gang members, murderers, and rapists.”