Center for Immigration Studies

December 26, 2017

32% of Federal Inmates Are Aliens

By Preston Huennekens

On December 21, the Department of Homeland Security released the Alien Incarceration Report for Fiscal Year 2017. The report discloses the number of confirmed and suspected foreign-born inmates in the custody of the federal prison system, which includes the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).

DHS reported a total of 58,766 “known or suspected” aliens in the custody of federal authorities. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, there are 184,379 total federal inmates, meaning that almost 32 percent of all federal inmates are aliens. The number of aliens in federal custody has risen since the last report: At that time, the Justice Department estimated that there were 42,000 aliens, representing 24 percent of the federal prison population.

Of the 58,766 “known or suspected” aliens, ICE could confirm that 37,557 (64 percent) are confirmed aliens, defined as meaning that they are non-citizens and foreign-born. From that group of 37,557 ICE-confirmed aliens, an astonishing 35,334 (94 percent) were illegally residing in the United States.

Prisoners known or suspected to be aliens are reviewed by ICE to determine their immigration status, and are placed into one of five categories:

Under Investigation: Further investigation by ICE is required to confirm alienage and establish potential removability
In Proceedings – Legal: Confirmed alien who is lawfully present in the United States, but has been charged as a removable alien; removal proceedings are ongoing
In Proceedings – Illegal: Confirmed alien who is unlawfully present in the United States; removal proceedings are ongoing
Subject to Final Order of Removal: Confirmed alien who is subject to a final order of removal
Relief/Benefit: Confirmed alien who has been granted relief or protection from removal that would generally be considered lawful status
Of the known and suspected aliens under investigation by ICE, the vast majority (31,699) are confirmed as illegal aliens and awaiting removal from the country or are still under investigation (21,209).

Immigration courts found that only 10 aliens qualified for relief and will not face removal proceedings… more here.