Number: RL31606
Title: Detention of Noncitizens in the United States
Authors: Alison Siskin, Domestic Social Policy Division; and Margaret Mikyung Lee, American Law Division 
Abstract: The Attorney General has broad authority to detain aliens (noncitizens) while awaiting a determination of whether the noncitizen should be removed from the United States. The law also mandates that certain categories of aliens are subject to mandatory detention, i.e., the aliens must be detained by INS. Aliens subject to mandatory detention include those arriving without documentation or those with fraudulent documentation, those who are removable on criminal grounds, those who are removable on national security grounds, those certified as a terrorist suspect, and those who have final orders of deportation. Aliens not subject to mandatory detention, may be detained, paroled, or released on bond. The priorities for detention of these aliens are specified in statute. Al-Quaeda prisoners at the Guantanamo U.S. military base in Cuba are not under the authority of the INS.
Pages: 32
Date: November 4, 2002