The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and The Bronx Defenders announced Monday a settlement in Velesaca v. Decker, their 2020 lawsuit challenging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s secret practice of automatically and indefinitely incarcerating thousands of people it arrested between 2017 and 2020 for alleged immigration offenses. Finalized on Friday and approved by the Southern District of New York, the settlement secures the right to a fair release assessment for everyone arrested by ICE.
Federal law requires ICE officers to make individualized custody determinations to assess whether a person should be released or detained after being arrested. Since 2013, the agency had used a risk-assessment tool that considers factors like a person’s family ties, connections to community, time in the country, and criminal history. However, the data shows that this tool, which ICE officers use nationwide, was manipulated, most recently in mid-2017, to remove its ability to recommend anyone be released. The tool could make only one substantive recommendation: detention without bond.
