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US 'to cut immigrant detention' US to reform immigrant detention
(about 15 hours later)
US officials are expected to announce plans that would allow illegal immigrants not considered a threat to be taken out of jails, reports say. The US government has announced plans to use sites like converted hotels and nursing homes to house some immigrants awaiting processing or deportation.
The new policy would list immigrants according to the risk they may pose, the Wall Street Journal reports. This is part of an overhaul of the system of detaining immigrants, amid reports of abuses and poor care.
Detainees who are not criminals could be kept in hotels and nursing homes, according to leaks of the plans. Immigrants would be held according to the risk they posed, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to give details of the plans later. Each year, thousands of immigrants are held in US jails, alongside regular prisoners, awaiting deportation.
Her department is hoping to cut the costs of detaining immigrants, which stood at almost $2bn (£1.3bn) in 2008. "This is a system that encompasses many different types of detainees, not all of whom need to be held in prison-like circumstances," Ms Napolitano said.
It says alternatives like the hotels and nursing homes would cost about $14 a day, compared to about $100 a day for detention. "These new initiatives will improve accountability and safety in our detention facilities."
Health needs At the same time, Ms Napolitano stressed that enforcement of immigration laws would continue "unabated".
Each year some 380,000 illegal immigrants are detained in US jails alongside regular prisoners, ahead of deportation. The US has been criticised for holding illegal immigrants and asylum seekers in often crowded jails alongside regular prisoners.
Serious felons deserve to be in the prison model - but there are others Janet NapolitanoHomeland Security secretary There have been accusations that detainees have been denied due process and have received poor medical care.
Of those held on 1 September, 51% were considered felons, and 11% of those had committed violent crimes, the New York Times reported. During 2008, a total of nearly 380,000 people were in custody or supervised by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
"Serious felons deserve to be in the prison model," Ms Napolitano told the newspaper. The facilities used to house the immigrants are mainly jails and prisons, which also house people awaiting trial and those serving sentences.
"But there are others. There are women. There are children." On 1 September, 2009, ICE had 31,075 immigrants in detention at more than 300 facilities across the US.
Proposals for using alternatives to prison detention are expected to be submitted to Congress in the coming weeks. Of these, 66% were subject to mandatory detention and 51% were felons. Of these, 11% had committed violent crimes, while the majority of the population were seen as low risk, a report by ICE says.
The Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying the administration would ask the private sector for ideas, including for the construction of model facilities. The plans for reform, which will be put to Congress, will could also result in savings in the cost of detaining immigrants, which stood at almost $2bn (£1.3bn) in 2008.
The paper said the review would also tackle criticism of the medical treatment given to detainees, and suggest to improve access to basic services including telephones. Ms Napolitano's department says alternatives like converted hotels and nursing homes would cost about $14 a day, compared to about $100 for detention in jail.
The administration will propose a screening system to flag up special medical or mental health needs of detainees, the paper said. President Barack Obama has spoken of the need for comprehensive immigration reform in the US, where an estimated 12 million undocumented people live and work.
Broad immigration reform is one of President Barack Obama's domestic priorities.
Efforts by his predecessor, George W Bush, to reform US immigration laws collapsed in 2007.Efforts by his predecessor, George W Bush, to reform US immigration laws collapsed in 2007.