• On February 7, the Council teamed up with Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) to file a FOIA request to obtain records from U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) on its policy for transferring individuals in detention from one facility to the other. The FOIA seeks records on ICE’s implementation of Policy 11022.1: “Detainee Transfers,” updated guidance about this policy, and data regarding transfers of individuals in detention between 2018 to present day.
Issued in January 2012, ICE Policy 11022.1: “Detainee Transfers” establishes responsibilities and procedures for ICE employees who perform detainee transfers. Per the policy, “detainee transfers and transfer determinations will be based on a thorough and systematic review of the most current information available.” However, over 13 years after the policy’s initial implementation, little public information exists on how ICE makes determinations on the transfer of individuals in detention from one facility to another. Furthermore, while the policy requires ICE to collect data on transfers, it remains unknown whether the agency adequately does so. ICE has not provided data about transfers to the public since 2011.
In attempting to discern the reasons leading to the transfer of individuals in detention, researchers also found that the agency’s information on transfer of individuals from one detention center to another proved limited, scattered, and difficult to access. Some scholars have theorized that transfers could potentially be punitive, disrupting attorney access; others have theorized ICE may deliberately choose to transfer individuals to certain jurisdictions with unfavorable immigration judges.
Last year, the Council analyzed data about noncitizens in detention at the Torrance County Detention Facility between January 2021 to November 2022 and published a web report in October 2024. The report could not identify conclusive findings in ICE patterns regarding transfers. The dearth of accessible public guidance on this issue leads to a lack of knowledge about the true circumstances that lead to individuals’ transfers. As such, the request submitted by the Council and RMIAN seeks to understand ICE’s operations regarding transfers, how frequently ICE transfers people in detention, under what circumstances it does so, and the extent to which transfers comply with the policy’s provisions about medical needs, medication, and property.
