How long are people kept in immigration detention?
This depends on how long a person’s case takes; and whether or not the person qualifies to get an immigration bond to fight their case from outside of detention; and whether a person agrees voluntarily to be deported. Most people do not qualify for bond, and the average length of time for a case to be completed before a judge at the Mira Loma Detention Center is about 8 months. However, if either the immigrant or the government (ICE) appeals the decision of the Immigration Judge, the length of detention can be much longer, up to a number of years. A large number of immigrants in detention accept deportation voluntarily rather than wait for long periods of time in detention for their cases to be finished, even when they may qualify to stay lawfully if they fought their cases, and even though accepting deportation can mean a potential 6 month to 20 year federal criminal sentence if they return to the United States without lawful permission. Some individual accept voluntary deportation th
