NCJ Number
158353
Journal
New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Commitment Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1995) Pages: 463-484
Date Published
1995
Length
22 pages
Annotation
In the Reno v. Flores case brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993, a class of alien juveniles who were unaccompanied by an adult and detained on suspicion of being deportable challenged an Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regulation governing the release of alien juveniles.
Abstract
The Western Region of the INS adopted a policy in 1984 to control the release of detained alien minors in deportation proceedings. The policy states that detention is required unless an adult relative or legal guardian is available to assume custody, even where another responsible adult is willing and able to care for the child and to ensure the child's attendance at a deportation hearing. A class action suit was filed in 1985 by four minors who posed no risk of flight or harm to the community and who had responsible third parties available to provide for them. They claimed that release conditions and confinement violated their due process and equal protection rights under the fifth amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the INS policy, concluding that due process requirements were satisfied in the case of the four minors by giving them the right to a hearing before an immigration judge. 179 footnotes