Cite as: 507 U. S. 292 (1993)
Stevens, J., dissenting
sidered. That drivers involved in accidents, as a statistical matter, might be very likely to have been wholly or partially at fault did not foreclose hearing and proof on specific cases before licenses were suspended.
"We think the Due Process Clause mandates a similar result here. The State's interest in caring for Stanley's children is de minimis if Stanley is shown to be a fit father. It insists on presuming rather than proving Stanley's unfitness solely because it is more convenient to presume than to prove. Under the Due Process Clause that advantage is insufficient to justify refusing a father a hearing when the issue at stake is the dismemberment of his family." Id., at 656-658.
Just as the State of Illinois could not rely on the administrative convenience derived from denying fathers a hearing, the INS may not rely on the fact that "other concerns . . . compete for public funds and administrative attention," ante, at 305, as an excuse to keep from doing what due process commands: determining, on an individual basis, whether the detention of a child in a government-operated or government-sponsored institution actually serves the INS' asserted interest in protecting the welfare of that child.31
Ultimately, the Court is simply wrong when it asserts that "freedom from physical restraint" is not at issue in this case. That is precisely what is at issue. The Court's assumption that the detention facilities used by the INS conform to the
31 Of course, even as a factual matter the INS' reliance on its asserted inability to conduct home studies because of a lack of resources or expertise as a justification for its wholesale detention policy is unpersuasive. It is perfectly clear that the costs of detention far exceed the cost of the kinds of inquiry that are necessary or appropriate for temporary release determinations. See n. 18, supra. Moreover, it is nothing less than perverse that the Attorney General releases juvenile citizens to the custody of "other responsible adults" without the elaborate "home studies" allegedly necessary to safeguard the juvenile's interests but deems such studies necessary before releasing noncitizens to the custody of "other responsible adults."
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