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ACLU Sues To End ICE's Rigged Algorithms That Keep Immigrants In Jail (theintercept.com) 249

A new lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Bronx Defenders alleges that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses a rigged algorithm to detain virtually everyone ICE's New York Field Office brings in, even when the government itself believes they present a minimal threat to public safety. The Intercept reports: The suit, which asks that ICE's "Risk Classification Assessment" tool be ruled illegal and the affected detainees reassessed by humans, includes damning new data obtained by the NYCLU through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The data illuminates the extent to which the so-called algorithm has been perverted. Between 2013 and 2017, the FOIA data shows, the algorithm recommended detention without bond for "low risk" individuals 53 percent of the time, according an analysis by the NYCLU and Bronx Defenders. But from June 2017 -- shortly after President Donald Trump took office -- to September 2019, that number exploded to 97 percent.

"This dramatic drop in the release rate comes at a time when exponentially more people are being arrested in the New York City area and immigration officials have expanded arrests of those not convicted of criminal offenses," says the groups' lawsuit. "The federal government's sweeping detention dragnet means that people who pose no flight or safety risk are being jailed as a matter of course -- in an unlawful trend that is getting worse." Individuals detained under what the lawsuit calls a "no-release policy" will remain jailed until they can be seen by an immigration judge. People arrested by ICE had no access to information about how they were classified by the algorithm -- that's why the FOIAs were necessary -- and most don't have access to lawyers at the time of their detention, Thomas Scott-Railton, a fellow at the Bronx Defenders told The Intercept. "The result," he said, "is that people are detained for weeks, even months, without having been given the actual justification for their detention and without a real chance to challenge it."

The lawsuit alleges that this algorithmic rubber stamp violates both the constitutional guarantee to due process and federal immigration law that calls for "individualized determinations" about release, rather than blanket denials with a computerized imprimatur. Reached by email, ICE New York spokesperson Rachael Yong Yow told The Intercept, "I am not familiar with the lawsuit you reference, but I am not inclined to comment on pending litigation." The risk assessment algorithm is supposed to provide a recommendation to ICE officers who are then meant to make the final decision, but the agency's New York Field Office diverged from the algorithm's ruling less than 1 percent of the time since 2017. When detainees are finally seen by a human, non-algorithmic immigration judge, the lawsuit says, "approximately 40% of people detained by ICE are granted release on bond."

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ACLU Sues To End ICE's Rigged Algorithms That Keep Immigrants In Jail

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @07:40PM (#59794348)

    You fucking Twats...it's ILLEGAL ALIENS

    • by Tim Hamilton ( 5961502 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @08:00PM (#59794446)
      Agreed. My stepfather was a Mexican immigrant, and nothing got him more riled up in the '90s than the media switching from calling them aliens to immigrants. He had to work HARD to make it into the U.S.A. and watched decades later as people just walked over as if it were their right.

      This is a typical BeauHD piece. He has no formal education and has been silo'ed his entire twenty years on earth in one small town in the northwest without any immersion into what the rest of us go through every day. And somehow these people are not only given a voice with an attitude, they are given a megaphone to make their narrow-minded proclamations.
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by whoever57 ( 658626 )

        My stepfather was a Mexican immigrant, and nothing got him more riled up in the '90s than the media switching from calling them aliens to immigrants. He had to work HARD to make it into the U.S.A.

        Would your stepfather have been able to make it into the USA under the current rules?

        • by Tim Hamilton ( 5961502 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @08:13PM (#59794508)
          Would you be able to own Mexican land under the current rules? Of what relevance is your question?
        • by Lonng_Time_Lurker ( 6285236 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @10:06PM (#59794818)

          Well - since it's as easy or easier now than it's ever been:

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

          legal immigration averages per year:
          1970–79 424,800
          1980–89 624,400
          1990–99 977,500
          2000–09 1,029,900
          2010–18 1,066,800

          In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country, with 47 million immigrants as of 2015.[2] This represents 19.1% of the 244 million international migrants worldwide, and 14.4% of the U.S. population.

          Top 10 sending countries in the recent years
          Country 2015 2016 2017 2018
          1. Mexico 158,619 174,534 170,581 161,858
          2. Cuba 54,396 66,516 65,028 76,486
          3. China 74,558 81,772 71,565 65,214
          4. India 64,116 64,687 60,394 59,821
          5. Dominican Rep. 50,610 61,161 58,520 57,413
          6. Philippines 56,478 53,287 49,147 47,258
          7. Vietnam 30,832 41,451 38,231 33,834
          8. El Salvador 19,487 23,449 25,109 28,326
          9. Haiti 16,967 23,584 21,824 21,360
          10. Jamaica 17,642 23,350 21,905 20,347
          Total 1,051,031 1,183,505 1,127,167 1,096,611

          Painting Americans and American policy as xenophobic racists just to push some weird agenda of breaking immigration law is pretty annoying when it's simply patently false. And as the OP says, it's very disrespectful to legal immigrants to be lumped into the same conversation. I've emigrated twice myself, and would never want to be associated with people that break the laws of their new host country.

          • by whoever57 ( 658626 ) on Wednesday March 04, 2020 @03:00AM (#59795334) Journal

            Numbers don't signify ease or difficulty. There are Indians who have a wait time for a green card that is greater than their expected lifetime. Any foreign born children they have will have to leave the country.

            Also, those numbers are declining since 2016 as are the numbers for asylum seekers, which have dropped dramatically. Since it takes years to get a green card, we don't see the effects of limiting entry to asylum seekers yet.

            Finally, the absolute numbers are not meaningful. Proportions are more important.

          • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Wednesday March 04, 2020 @07:23AM (#59795630) Homepage Journal

            Is it easier or have things just got a lot worse in South America causing more people to try to escape that region?

            If you look at the other stats on the Wikipedia page you linked to you will notice that numbers coming from the Far East and Asia are down but numbers coming from South America are up.

            The way to fix immigration is to first offer legal paths to people and secondly have a long term policy of helping to stablize countries that people immigrate from. Instead of trying to fuck them up because they are communist or you have some other beef with them try to make sure people mostly want to stay there, and get yourselves a new growing economy to invest in and trade with at the same time.

          • by bidule ( 173941 ) on Wednesday March 04, 2020 @11:39AM (#59796200) Homepage

            2010–18 1,066,800

            In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country, with 47 million immigrants as of 2015.[2] This represents 19.1% of the 244 million international migrants worldwide, and 14.4% of the U.S. population.

            Europe got 2400k over 500 million and sits around 10% of foreign-born. Same as US. So yeah, pretty nice.

            Blame Canada! They accept 250k immigrants over 38 million. US would need 2140k over 325 million to match. They're the ones who make US look bad!

            https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/ce... [statcan.gc.ca]
            Immigrant population
            According to the 2016 Census, 7,540,830 people, that is, 21.9% of the Canadian population, were foreign-born (immigrants), 26,412,610 (76.6%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 506,625 (1.5%) were non-permanent residents.

      • The shitposters on Slashdot are almost, almost just as bad as the constant barrage of editor bashing. Seriously, this shit should be banned just like the anonymous cowards. I don't understand how the /. keep putting up with assholes like the OP.
    • by hey! ( 33014 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @09:08PM (#59794672) Homepage Journal

      If someone breaks the law that doesn't give you a license to violate other laws.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        Yeah, ICE shouldn't even have jails. They need to just deport everyone they find here illegally, unless they're a murderer in which case execution.
        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          You could extend human rights and due process to everyone. In Europe human rights are universal, not just for citizens. Everyone gets a fair trial, at least in theory.

          • Fair trial? Are you rich? Only the very wealthy can afford the sort of legal representation that gets you every benefit the rules of criminal and civil procedure is afforded to you. The prosecution is all to willing to let your rights go unnoticed.

          • Human rights are universal in the US too. Its just that a lot of people, and some officials, forget this.

      • There are no other laws being violated; the ACLU claims that not offering bail is "illegal" but it is not. There are no laws about who gets bail and who does not. And if a person is in the US illegally, without valid/provable ID - there is a good incentive for them to just ignore the bail/bond return as they will simply not have any traceable history in the first place.
    • And under the US constitution, everyone in the United States is afforded certain protections, regardless of immigration status. Law enforcement must still treat them properly.

      If for some reason an agency just decides that they want to absuse these people, then they should be honest about it; intead of perverting and misapplying laws and being disingenuous about it all, they should just proclaim out loud their belief that laws do not apply to the Trump administration.

    • The case here is about if the authorities are acting legally, not whether or not these people are guilty.

      Suspects have rights, that is the basis of a free society, the fact that your hate is so easily triggered is the real cause for concern.

      The fact they are illegal immigrants is irrelevant to the question of law before the court. It is the same legal question as suspects being protected from abuse of process with the laws surrounding search and seizure, miranda rights and many other safeguards.

  • Did those in jail not commit a criminal act? Is the government minority report style picking up Mexicans abroad and bringing them across the border to NY in case they might perform some illegal acts?

    Does the ACLU suggest deporting them right away? Wasn't ACLU also suing because the government is deporting them too fast? https://www.aclu.org/press-rel... [aclu.org]

    • Illegal aliens commit a fresh crime every day that they don't self-deport.
      • by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        It's not a fresh crime, they have committed one crime and are still in the process of doing so.

    • by lgw ( 121541 )

      If ICE were detaining US citizens without due process, I'd be right there with the ACLU. And TFS disingenuously implies that to be the case. OTOH, someone who is in jail for illegal border crossing is quite obviously a flight risk. Ignoring the governments rules about where they're supposed to be is why they were arrested. Detain them long enough to be sure they aren't a US citizen who had their wallet stolen, or something, then release them in Mexico.

      • by suutar ( 1860506 )

        If ICE were detaining known US citizens without due process they'd be practicing false arrest, no?

        • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @10:14PM (#59794842)

          If ICE were detaining known US citizens without due process they'd be practicing false arrest, no?

          Which they do all the time

        • If they're detaining *anyone* without due process, then they're acting unlawfully.

          The Constitution and the rights it guarantees apply to all persons within the borders of the country, not only to citizens.

          • by lgw ( 121541 )

            Dew process? Isn't that how they make Velveeta?

          • I am curious as to where “due process” is defined, and whether that definition actually covers “must be entirely processed by a human”. Not trolling, genuinely curious.

      • by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Isn't flight exactly what they want illegal immigrants to do? If they leave the country they're no longer illegal immigrants - problem solved.

        • And if that's what they would do, I'm sure it would be fine. But it isn't. What they want to do is then move somewhere else within the USA and start a new life with someone else's SSN.
      • Came here to say this, I have nothing else to add.
      • Who said we had to foot the bill to deport them to their country of origin? How about Antarctica? Or some isle in the pacific some 800 miles from our shore?

      • Any citizen, resident, or visitor is afforded the same legal rights to due process under the constitution. Many haven't even had hearings to determine if they're in the country legally or not. It is not allowed in the US to have indefinite detention without being charged or without access to legal representation. There is no exception for illegal border crossers, murdererers, jaywalkers, green card holders, prisoners of war, etc.

        (one reason we have POWs in Guantanamo is to avoid dealing with constitutiona

    • by suutar ( 1860506 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @09:11PM (#59794682)

      Depends. Entering the country without the approval of an immigration officer is a crime. Overstaying a visa is not; it is a civil matter.

      • Are you actually attempting to paint an edge case as the norm? What is this, the 1990's? There are so many more illegal immigrants than visa overstays that it's ridiculous to even suggest they could account for even a marginally noticeable portion of that "53%" figure.
      • Overstayed your visa and got caught? I don't care if it's criminal or civil....buh-byyyyeeeee!!!!
        • You do realize that the people who over stay or are here illegally are mostly white or wealthy people who over stayed their visa. Ice is not here for the white people or wealthy people. They are only interested in deporting the brown people.

          • >"Ice is not here for the white people or wealthy people. They are only interested in deporting the brown people."

            Really? So you have proof of that?

            I think you need to go ask a typical ICE officer if they care what color the skin is or how much money is in the wallet of the illegal alien they are deporting. I suspect they don't care; as they shouldn't. If you are here illegally, they will seek to deport you. That is their job.

            You sound just like the people crying about police harassment and point to

      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Depends if you are claiming asylum or not. Entering a country to claim asylum is legal, even if you don't have permission.

        • Thats patently false. The rules of asylum state You must seek asylum in the FIRST country you arrive in. You dont get to skip 5 countries because the free handouts are better in the US. That my friend is seeking to defraud the taxpayer. If there is no religious or political persecution in the central american countries they cross thru then they are required to seek Asylum there. This is the UN accord on asylum.

  • Immigrants have residency cards or visas. ICE arrests people who are in the country illegally.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      But but but "dreamers"...

    • Immigrants have residency cards or visas.

      Do they? People are issued a paper visa by an embassy and when they enter the country, they surrender this visa, so until their green cards arrive in the post, they have no physical proof of legal residency.

    • by radarskiy ( 2874255 ) on Wednesday March 04, 2020 @10:40AM (#59795992)

      "ICE arrests people who are in the country illegally."

      And also:
      Jilmar Ramos-Gomez was detained by ICE while carrying a passport, drivers license, and military ID. buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/us-born-marine-ice-detained-passport

      9-year-old Julia Medina was detained by ICE while carrying her passport. https://www.gq.com/story/borde... [gq.com]

  • internally has committed crimes (beyond simply breaking immigration law. ) And they're not even going after that many in the grand scheme of things. A few dozen here and couple dozen there. If you're an illegal that is otherwise law abiding you have very little to worry about. Most of the stories I see from the otherside heavily imply that evil Drumpf is going after innocent babies and mothers as innoncent as the undriven snow by the millions. But I've never seen an actual verification ofthis and any follow
    • They argument I keep reading is that many of the crimes are related to being illegally in the country. Such as identity theft, or driving without a license in a state that doesn't grant them to just anyone who walks in off the street. If not for their being here illegally, they wouldn't have done it. It was a Supreme Court case just recently. For some reason (maybe because we have lost common sense) it had to go all the way up to the SCOTUS to determine that a local or state government could prosecute someo
  • Emotive, dishonest piece.

    Immigrants are those who have applied for, received and are present in a country by due process, on for example a visa.

    Asylum seekers are those who present themselves promptly upon arrival and seek (I.e. ask for), asylum due to certain criteria. And who are evaluated by those criteria. Which do not include: "my country is poor".

    People who do not fall into those categories, who do not (because they cannot) pay tax, and who have not been permitted to be there ... are illegal immigrant

    • by suutar ( 1860506 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @09:20PM (#59794704)

      No, what they're claiming is that the constitutional requirement for due process applies to all people, and this computer algorithm doesn't qualify.

    • One word - flight risk. If they get out - and run and hide. It is fair and reasonable to see the algorithm. However why if you caught an illegal who took strong preventive measures NOT to get caught - such as moving to a 'friendly city' or being housed by a criminal organisation in the business of illegal housing. The exceptions should be for transit violations, such as arresting Canadians for being 4 hours over because of car troubles etc. The human friendly Judges are just and releasing those when their
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Okay, but how did that attitude work out in the War on Drugs? People who do drugs are criminals, they should go to jail, right? Which results in all kinds of even worse problems than someone smoking weed or doing cocaine.

      If you want there to be fewer illegal immigrants then offer them a legal path to immigrate. Not a 6+ month wait at the border for an asylum claim to be heard, not a 20+ year family reunion visa application processing time. Make it legal, make it fair, and make sure people who do immigrate h

  • I assume this kind of justice will be meted out to everyone with, say, less than 3/5 Native 'Murican ancestry by descent, yes?
  • by Ichijo ( 607641 ) on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @08:20PM (#59794548) Journal

    Capt. Vasili Borodin (Sam Neill) : I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
    Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) : I suppose.
    Capt. Vasili Borodin : No papers?
    Captain Ramius : No papers, state to state.
    Capt. Vasili Borodin : Well then, in winter I will live in... Arizona. Actually, I think I will need two wives.
    Captain Ramius : Oh, at least.

    That conversation [imdb.com] keeps getting more and more outdated. Except of course the part about the wives [wikipedia.org]!

    • I know right. I want to go into a building -- they ask for your papers. You want to use a check at the supermarket -- they ask for your papers. You want to get on an airplane -- they ask for your papers. You get pulled over by the police for a traffic infraction -- they ask for your papers. What is this country coming to? Of course all of the items I just pointed out have been true for many decades...
  • you tend to get arrested when law enforcement catches you breaking the law.

    Don't want to got to a detention center or jail? Try not breaking the law. I want to be able to rob a bank and have the ACLU sue on my behalf about how unfairly law enforcement is treating me and get sympathy from folks.

    The idea that we should feel responsible for another countries problems to the point that those escaping them should be allowed to break our laws is a bigger problem than the folks running through the border.

    Have he

    • by suutar ( 1860506 )

      Sympathy may be too much to hope for from most folks, but if you rob a bank and your rights as a not-yet-convicted suspect seem to be getting ignored, the ACLU very well may be there to back you up. Hopefully you'll never need to find out.

      • You are right, that is often too much for most folks.

        That said, I can sympathize with illegal immigrants, but I can also sympathize with all sorts of other people that break laws as well. The problem is that those laws are there for a reason. Sure sometimes those reasons are bad, but I mean really? I still have to tell them all... stop breaking the law for a better chance. I often have less desire to expend resources on people doing things the wrong way and this would fall under that heading.

        We all know

      • Sympathy may be too much to hope for from most folks, but if you rob a bank and your rights as a not-yet-convicted suspect seem to be getting ignored, the ACLU very well may be there to back you up. Hopefully you'll never need to find out.

        If you rob a bank, you should expect to be detained (unless you currently live in the state of New York) so I fail to see what your point is about any rights being ignored.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday March 04, 2020 @09:41AM (#59795866)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Releasing illegal aliens on bond is highly risky as 87% of them never return for their court hearings

      Did you actually read this? What the article is claiming is that 65%-70% of asylum seekers were showing up for those court hearings, then Trump took over and the number plummeted to 13%. Now, I could believe this figure given that his "fuck foreigners, only Americans are real people" rhetoric is probably convincing a lot of immigrants that there's no chance of a fair trial, but the idea that this is true at all is coming purely from the testimony of one guy citing an unsourced figure from an unpublished stu

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