ICE Slow to Deport Detained-Illegal Immigrants From Va. Victims Of 'Broken' System

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ICE Slow to Deport Detained
Illegal Immigrants From Va. Victims Of 'Broken' System

Norma Portales, 26, an illegal immigrant accused of an illegal U-turn, wears a monitoring device. Multiple transfers across Virginia left court officials confused. With her are her children, Ivan, 4, Jeffrey, 2 months, and Christopher, 8.

By Nick Miroff and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, October 5, 2008; Page A01


Illegal immigrants detained as part of the stepped-up enforcement effort in Virginia stay in the country far longer than they should because of a detention and deportation system beset by waste and dysfunction, according to lawyers, detainee accounts and observations of courtroom proceedings.

Detainees are often held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for weeks, if not months, after they have consented to deportation. Federal officials regularly misplace files or fail to bring detainees to court hearings, resulting in needless additional jail time at taxpayer expense. In some cases, detainees are transported round trip between Arlington County and jails in central Virginia to appear for a few minutes before an immigration judge via videoconference, even though the immigration court is just down the street in Arlington.

During recent court proceedings before an immigration judge, in more than half the cases the government was missing detainee files, did not know where detainees were being held or failed to bring a detainee to a facility with proper videoconferencing equipment. In one instance, the government lost track of a nursing mother who had been separated from her newborn, thinking she was in a Hampton Roads jail; she was sitting in court a few feet away and wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. In another case, Judge Wayne R. Iskra grew so frustrated over a detainee's missing file that he berated the government prosecutor in open court, asking her, "How would you like to sit in jail for two more weeks?"

"The system is broken!" the judge said.

ICE officials reject claims that their operations are strained, saying the agency has made "significant strides."

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