Immigrant Court, Jail To Close

By LINDSAY PETERSON lpeterson@tampatrib.com

Published: May 17, 2006

BRADENTON - President Bush told a national audience Monday about his plans to take a tough, new stand on illegal immigration, with National Guard troops, increased technology and more detention centers.

Tuesday morning, federal officials confirmed that the only immigration court and detention facility on Florida's west coast is closing in six weeks.

The closure highlights gaps in the government's efforts to control a large and growing illegal population.

Bush, for instance, said all immigrants crossing the border into the United States would be detained or sent home. Many now are released and later sent a notice to appear in immigration court, often called a "notice to disappear."

In Florida, it is routine to release illegal immigrants caught in sweeps and traffic stops, and that is not likely to end.

"We don't have the space to detain them," said Michael Rozos, the director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office for detention and removal in Florida.

He said an immigrant whose only known offense is not having a green card falls pretty low on the detainment list, behind terrorism suspects and immigrants with criminal records.

The crunch got worse two years ago when Florida lost detention space to California, New Mexico and Arizona, where nearly all of the measures Bush described Monday night are focused.

Lease Agreement

So why is another Florida center being closed?

It's an agreement between the federal government and Manatee County, Rozos said. Manatee has let the government use its jail and office space since 1996 for about $10 million a year.

The aging facility "doesn't fit the need anymore," and the county is not planning the kind of upgrade it needs, Rozos said. After negotiating for a year, he said, the two sides could not reach agreement. "So instead of pointing fingers, we agreed to do this."

In a meeting with Rozos on Tuesday, immigration lawyer Andy Strickland rejected the idea that nothing more could be done to keep the facility open, particularly in light of the public sentiments that led to Bush's speech.

It doesn't make sense when people are demanding more aggressive action on undocumented immigrants, Strickland said. "We can only expect more enforcement."

Rozos agreed. "The need will always be there," he said. "After last night's speech, the need will be there."

Florida is a "ripe state, a rich state" for immigration enforcement, he said. Undocumented immigrants make up an estimated 5 percent of the population. Only four states have a greater percentage: Arizona, California, Texas and Nevada, says the Pew Hispanic Center.

Congress recently decided to pay for 6,700 more immigration detention beds, but none of them were designated for Florida.

Still, Rozos said he stands behind the closure. "This is a short-term fix." He said the government has a long-term plan for a large immigration detention center in North Florida. It has not been approved, however.

Nearly 200 detainees remain in the Bradenton detention center. Those who have not been released or deported by June 26 will probably be transferred to facilities in Miami-Dade County, Rozos said. New cases will be handled in South Florida or be sent out of state.

"This is just awful," said immigration lawyer Joan Mathieu, based in Clearwater. "We're just sick to our stomachs" trying to figure out how to represent local clients in other places.

An Increasing Backlog

Mathieu also sees the switch worsening a backlog of deportation and asylum cases as the two judges who hear cases in Bradenton are moved.

Their employer, the U.S. Justice Department, has not decided where they will go. Mathieu said it is expected to be Orlando, which is so backlogged now that people are not getting hearing dates until well into 2007. The two judges might take two new courtrooms there. "But we need those two plus the judges in Bradenton."

The time to settle a case could go from a year to three or four years, she said. "That's unfair to everyone."

The Bradenton judges handle dozens of cases a day. They see detainees, who are often undocumented immigrants charged with crimes or immigrants with green cards who have previous felony convictions. And they see people who have not been detained but still face deportation orders because of previous offenses, such as driving under the influence.

All are subject to a convoluted, ever changing set of laws that determine when someone must leave the United States.

On a recent day last week, about 40 people were scheduled to appear before Judge R. Kevin McHugh. They were from Trinidad, Haiti, Venezuela and Colombia. Many of the South Americans sought asylum from their governments. One described being beaten after circulating petitions in his country, Venezuela, to remove President Hugo Chavez from power.

More than a third were from Mexico and Cuba, their cases taking opposite turns. The Cuban Adjustment Act gives Cubans the right to become residents in a year if they do not break any laws. All the Cubans showed up in court to begin the process.

Of nine Mexicans scheduled to appear, only three showed up. Of the six who did not, one had been caught in a Tampa bus station, another in the Orlando bus station, another had been stopped on Alligator Alley, in South Florida - all not taken into custody because of a lack of space.

Each was ordered deported, if they are ever found.