INS doubling bail for detainees

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

With prison space suddenly available, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has begun imposing bail costs on suspected violators sometimes more than double the amount of just a few months ago.

In the past, INS officials often released detainees on their own recognizance, imposed a bond in the $1,500 range or debated whether to ship them to federal facilities on the Mainland.

But the new $63 million federal detention center near Honolulu International Airport, opened July 1, has led local INS officials to impose higher bonds, said Wayne Wills, INS deputy district director.

Wills could not immediately say how many of the 56 detainees that have gone to the detention center faced higher bonds. Thirteen remained in custody this week.

"We can say that we have set bonds on individuals that may have been considered for release on OR (own recognizance) previous to the opening of the detention center," Wills said. "We used to have to take a real hard look at releasing people on OR or sending them to the Mainland."

Immigrants are detained for a variety of alleged offenses, from failing to file proper documents to serious crimes. But offenses that once brought a $1,500 bond are suddenly resulting in $5,000 bonds that end in imprisonment, attorneys said.

"The bails are being set so high, just so they can fill a brand new facility that the federal government has poured millions into," said Pat McManaman, chief executive officer for the Na Loio Immigrant Rights and Public Interest Legal Center. "We're seeing minimum bails of $5,000, and there are no local bondsmen here in Hawai'i who will take immigration cases."

At a time when many immigrants have lost jobs following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, McManaman said, "that means the family has to pay the bail in cash. The dramatic rise in what the (Immigration and Naturalization) Service is setting for bail is creating a hardship for these detainees and their families."

The amount of the bond can be challenged before immigration judge Dayna Dias. Wills said he did not know how any cases had been challenged. Dias' office referred inquiries to the INS' immigration review office in Washington, D.C., where a spokeswoman said she could not immediately provide a figure.

The higher bonds come as immigrant rights group are questioning INS policies nationally in the wake of Sept. 11.

An estimated 1,000 Arabs and Muslims around the country have been detained by the INS on "fairly high bond" with no public accounting, said Mark Silverman, director of immigration policy for the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

"We say 1,000 people, but nobody really knows for sure," Silverman said.

Unlike criminal courts, INS administrators have wide discretion to set the amount of a bond, Silverman said.

"The criteria is supposed to be based on the likelihood that a detainee will abscond," he said. "But there is no standard. The amount is arbitrarily set by the INS."

For immigrants picked up in Hawai'i, the question is whether the higher bonds are reasonable, Silverman said, "or is the bond disproportionately high on somebody who doesn't pose as a significant flight risk?

"This is all being done at considerable hardship for the families and considerable cost to the taxpayers," Silverman said.

Gordon Yang is among Honolulu immigration attorneys frustrated by lack of explanation for the sudden change.

He said he has seen several cases in the last few weeks rise from a typical $1,500 bond to $5,000 and more. The family of one client scraped together $6,500 in cash.

"I have asked informally what's going on, and I haven't gotten a clear response," Yang said.

Attorney Gary Singh is among those who want INS officials to outline how they set the new bond amounts.

"Nobody will give you an answer, other than the INS is asking for more bail now," Singh said. "Meanwhile, my guys sit in jail."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated an incorrect opening date for the federal detention center near Honolulu International Airport. An earlier online version also included an incorrect reference to the IRS.