Due Process Threatened in Rush to Meet Deportation Quotas
After the federal government enacted sweeping immigration enforcement reforms meant to empower individual states in the fight against illegal immigration, Florida began pulling out all the stops to have the toughest anti-immigration laws in the country. The new set of laws enacted in 2025 include measures that many advocates feel threaten everyone’s civil rights.
Among the controversial new mandates granted to state and local law enforcement—as well as the recently formed State Guard—is the power to arrest and detain without warrants those suspected of violating immigration laws, and to issue “ICE detainers.” The Florida Highway Patrol is now working with ICE to interrogate, arrest and detain immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and deliver them to federal authorities. New collaboration under the section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act also means that local officers can screen detainees’ immigration status during bookings.
ICE Detainers: Understanding the Process and Legal Challenges
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, also known as an “ICE holds,” allow local law enforcement to hold a suspected undocumented immigrant for an additional 48 hours after they would normally be released following an arrest. That extra time allows ICE time to pick them up and start deportation proceedings. So instead of a person being released after their criminal case is resolved or bond is posted, they are whisked away to a processing center to await a one-way trip out of the country.
Civil liberties groups have criticized the use of ICE detainers because they can violate the constitutional protections traditionally afforded anyone arrested in this country. The biggest danger to civil liberties, advocates say, is that unlike judicial warrants, ICE holds are often issued without the legal oversight of a review of probable cause.
Further, most people held under the broad new version of ICE detainers have minimal or no criminal records, and the extended custody prevents them from due process court hearings and even the ability to talk to a lawyer. In addition to eroding civil rights traditionally extended to every person on American soil, the ramping up of arrests and the increased use of detainers is leading to overcrowding and inhumane conditions at the state’s 67 county jails.
Overcrowding and Barriers To Legal Representation
According to the latest Homeland Security Department estimates, there are nearly 600,000 undocumented immigrants in Florida and the state’s detention centers are already operating at nearly 100% capacity. ICE detainers are making the chronic overcrowding worse. Under the new partnership between ICE and the Florida Sheriffs Association, the so-called Basic Ordering Agreements (BOA) agreements, ICE is reimbursing counties for 48-hour detentions. So there’s money to be made and no incentive to reduce overcrowding.
Immigration attorneys say clients are reporting limited access to legal counsel, with lawyers describing “interference” by facility staff and inadequate translation services. Whistleblowers report that authorities are altering records to hide substandard care at the detention centers. Such conditions further undermine due process of law, particularly for non-English speakers.
How an Orlando Criminal Defense Attorney Can Help
With state and local authorities going all in to help ICE in these intense Enforcement and Removal Operations, it’s more important than ever to talk to an experienced and aggressive criminal defense attorney
A lawyer can fight against unfair detentions, especially if they violate your Fourth Amendment rights, and build a strong defense against criminal charges. To make sure your basic rights are respected, including fair treatment and protection from being held unfairly, call 407-644-2466 today to speak with an Orlando criminal defense attorney at the Rivas Law Firm.
