consideration the particular circumstances of the specific case, thus ensuring an individual
decision; 399 it must seek to achieve a legitimate purpose pursuant to the Convention, and
it must be suitable, necessary and proportionate. 400 To achieve this, the State must
analyze the particular circumstances of each case as regards: (a) the immigration record,
the length of the stay, and the extent of the ties of the parent and/or the family to the
receiving State; (b) consideration of the nationality, 401 custody and residence of the
children of the person it is intended to deport; (c) the implications of the breakup of the
family owing to the expulsion, including of the persons with whom the child lives, as well
as the time that the child has lived in this family unit, and (d) the extent of the disruption
of the child’s daily life if the family situation changes owing to the expulsion of a person in
charge of the child, so that these circumstances are rigorously weighed in light of the best
interests of the child against the essential public interest that it is sought to protect. 402
358. Regarding proceedings or measures that affect fundamental rights, such as personal
liberty, and that may result in expulsion or deportation, the Court has considered that “the
State may not make administrative decisions or adopt judicial decisions without respecting
certain basic guarantees the content of which is substantially the same as those
established in Article 8(2) of the Convention.” 403
B.1.3. Standards related to the deprivation of liberty, including that of children, in
immigration proceedings
359. The Court has established the incompatibility with the American Convention of the
punitive deprivation of liberty in order to control migratory flows, in particular those of an
irregular nature. 404 Thus, it has determined that the detention of persons for noncompliance with the immigration laws should never be for punitive reasons, so that the
deprivation of liberty should only be used when necessary and proportionate in the
specific case in order to ensure the appearance of the person in the immigration
proceedings or to ensure the application of a deportation order, and only for the least
possible time. 405 Consequently, “immigration policies whose central focus is the obligatory
detention of irregular migrants will be arbitrary, if the competent authorities do not verify,
in each particular case and by an individualized evaluation, the possibility of using less
restrictive measures that are effective to achieve those ends.” 406 In this regard, the
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has stated that:
If there has to be administrative detention, the principle of proportionality requires it to be the
last resort. Strict legal limitations must be observed and judicial safeguards be provided for. The
399
Cf. Rights and Guarantees of Children in the Context of Migration and/or in Need of International
Protection. OC-21/14, para. 281.
400
Cf. Rights and Guarantees of Children in the Context of Migration and/or in Need of International
Protection. OC-21/14, para. 153.
401
Cf. Rights and Guarantees of Children in the Context of Migration and/or in Need of International
Protection. OC-21/14, para. 279.
402
Cf. Rights and Guarantees of Children in the Context of Migration and/or in Need of International
Protection. OC-21/14, para. 279.
403
Case of the Pacheco Tineo Family v. Bolivia, para. 132. See also, Case of Nadege Dorzema et al. v.
Dominican Republic, para. 157, and Rights and Guarantees of Children in the Context of Migration and/or in Need
of International Protection. OC-21/14, para. 112.
404
Cf. Case of Vélez Loor v. Panama, para. 167, and Rights and Guarantees of Children in the Context of
Migration and/or in Need of International Protection. OC-21/14, para. 151.
405
Cf. Case of Vélez Loor v. Panama, para. 171, and Rights and Guarantees of Children in the Context of
Migration and/or in Need of International Protection. OC-21/14, para. 151.
406
Case of Vélez Loor v. Panama, para. 171, and Case of the Pacheco Tineo Family v. Bolivia, para. 131.
116
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