As the republican presidential race enters Florida, the hot issue of immigration is taking center stage. Today, a national news organization reported that on one single day this past fall, the U.S. held more than 13,000 people in immigration detention who were not convicted of a crime.

This is in stark contrast to the stated goal of the federal administration, which is to detain only unauthorized immigrants who have been convicted of crimes. And, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has recently implemented new policies to stop detaining innocent immigrants as well.

Simply residing in the U.S without status is not a criminal offense, it is a civil offense. The news report had detainee data on immigrants in detention on Oct. 3, 2011. On that day, almost 32,300 people were detained, and 40 percent of them had not been convicted of a crime, and they were not awaiting a criminal trial.

According to ICE's data cited in the report, a very large number of those detained were traffic violators and low-level drug offenders. A very small number were charged with or convicted of violent crimes, which are the crimes that ICE says it is trying to target.

The prospect of deportation is much more difficult to deal with in a detainment setting, separated from family and in a locked facility. Those who have a family member or loved one in immigration detention should contact an experienced immigration detention lawyer who can work to release him or her on bond. Under U.S. law, people charged with immigration violations may be released on bond if a judge does not believe the person is a flight risk or a danger to the public. And, if the person who is released on bond attends all of his or her immigration hearings, the bond will be returned.

Source: Huffington Post, "No Conviction, No Freedom: Immigration Authorities Locked 13,000 In Limbo," Elise Foley, Jan. 27, 2012