Illinois Attorney General Joins Multistate Coalition Opposing Mandatory Detention of Undocumented Immigrants

Strategic Insights -

The Illinois Attorney General, Kwame Raoul, has joined a 20-state coalition in filing an amicus brief in opposition to a new federal policy that mandates the indefinite detention of undocumented immigrants without the opportunity for a bond hearing. The policy, which has been interpreted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a reinterpretation of immigration law, violates due process and federal statutes, and inflicts widespread harm on families, communities, and state economies.

Key Takeaways:

  • The DHS's new policy eliminates the right to request a bond hearing for undocumented immigrants who entered the country without inspection, mandating their indefinite detention regardless of individual circumstances.
  • Many of these immigrants have lived in the U.S. for years and now face confinement in overcrowded, unsafe, and unsanitary facilities for months or even years.
  • The policy will result in the detention of millions more immigrants, further exacerbating the effects of family separation, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in children, and deepening economic instability for entire households.
  • Undocumented immigrants constitute nearly five percent of the U.S. workforce and play critical roles in industries such as agriculture in construction, and in 2023, undocumented-led households paid nearly $90 billion in taxes and contributed almost $300 billion in consumer spending.
  • The attorneys general argue that the mandatory detention policy unnecessarily detains critical workers, disrupting the labor force and undermining local and state economies.
  • The policy will come at a substantial cost to taxpayers, with immigration detention costing U.S. taxpayers $3.4 billion in 2024, or $152 per detainee per day, compared to the $4.20 per day cost of the DHS's Alternatives to Detention program.
  • The brief also emphasizes that indefinite detention severely limits detainees' ability to access legal representation, particularly when they are transferred to remote facilities far from their families and attorneys.

Statistics:

  • 9 million U.S. citizens, including over 4 million children, live with at least one undocumented family member.
  • The detention of a parent significantly increases the risk of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in children.
  • Undocumented immigrants constitute nearly five percent of the U.S. workforce.
  • In 2023, undocumented-led households paid nearly $90 billion in taxes and contributed almost $300 billion in consumer spending.
  • In 2024, immigration detention cost U.S. taxpayers $3.4 billion, or $152 per detainee per day.

Sources:

  • Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office press release
  • The 20-state coalition amicus brief in Bautista v. Noem
  • The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Alternatives to Detention program