Record linkage in a human rights analysis of US immigration enforcement data

While immigration detention and the use of detention transfers are necessary components of the US immigration enforcement system, there are several human rights principles that may be violated during detention and deportation processes. This study highlights the utility of record linkage methodologies of data analysis in illuminating the reality of immigration enforcement for millions of non-citizens and developing evidence of potential rights violations. It is hoped that this study provides a direction and exemplifies a course of action for how ICE data can be explored to produce a greater understanding of the realities of US immigration enforcement practices.;US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) frequently releases immigration enforcement data to researchers via Freedom of Information Act requests. These datasets often contain unique variables attributable to the same detainees or may contain detention actions absent of the identification variables necessary to group actions to individual detainees. This report demonstrates the utility of record linkage in analyzing such datasets. It examines linked records through a human rights lens and provides quantitative estimates of several potential human rights violations.;Intra-system record linkage was used to successfully link over 95 percent of records in an ICE database of 5,061,411 detention actions. The methodology supplies data on detention transfers by determining who was transferred where, thus providing aggregate evidence of detentions transfers which arguably violate several human rights principles concerning the right to defend against deportation.;Inter-system record linkage was utilized to successfully match 33 percent of the records from a second database to corresponding records in the main database, thus increasing the number of variables per matched individual as well as ascertaining the immigration outcomes of matched detainees. I utilize the crime variable gained via record linkage, along with detention facility variables, to provide additional evidence of immigration detention potentially violating the principle of proportionality in sentencing.