Immigration Detentions
U.S. Congressman Eric Swalwell (D–CA) claims, “Tonight before bed my 8-year-old asked me if the immigrants we know are going to be put in jail. I told him no. But that may be a lie.”
IN FACT, immigrants aren’t jailed unless they are convicted of jailable crimes, like the 33,300 homicides committed by non-citizens incarcerated in U.S. prisons during 2010–2016. Instead, illegal immigrants are sometimes detained until they willingly leave or are forcibly deported. Such detentions average 30 days and aren’t criminal punishments but a means to ensure they return to their homelands.
