The TRUST ACT- Immigration Holds Lifted

“The TRUST ACT” – Immigration Holds Limited

As always, there are many new laws coming into effect in 2014. One of the most important from an immigration perspective is the TRUST ACT. Previously, jails, juvenile halls and other types of detention centers were authorized to hold a subject for up to forty-eight hours to allow federal immigration authorities to take detainees into custody. The TRUST ACT prohibits such detentions in many, but not all, situations.

Persons eligible for immediate release include subjects whose:

charges were dismissed
received an acquittal
sentence has been completed
bond was posted or
are otherwise eligible for release under state or local law, or local policy

Detention facilities may, but are not required to, detain individuals for forty-eight hours because of an immigration hold if it is otherwise lawful and consistent with local policies and one of the following is true:

the person has been convicted of a serious or violent felony;
the person has been convicted of a felony punishable by state prison;
the person has been convicted within the past five years of certain listed misdemeanors;
the person has been convicted at any time of a felony for any offense on that same list;
the person must register as a convicted sex or arson offender;
the person has been arrested and held to answer at a preliminary hearing for a serious or violent felony, a felony punishable by state prison, or any felony covered on the list discussed above other than domestic violence;
or the person has been convicted of a federal crime that is an aggravated felony or subject to an outstanding federal felony arrest warrant.

While the exceptions to the law are numerous, the ACT covers many low-end offenders and creates a scenario where individuals will be able to be released pending trial.