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EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ended two programs that provide social services to illegal immigrants who are released inside the U.S., telling lawmakers that one carries a “tremendous cost with little improvement” and that the other is outside the mission of the ICE
The agency responded to Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and 15 members of Congress, who wrote to ICE in May asking for more information about the “Alternatives to Detention” program, which monitors illegal immigrants. legal that are not detained by ICE. The agency defended the program, saying it was “an efficient and effective program” to monitor a segment of illegal immigrants on the ICE registry not in custody.
ICE only has about 40,000 beds available at any one time, while it has a non-detainer backlog of nearly 7.7 million people, a number that has skyrocketed during the Biden administration. Of those, just over 181,000 are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention tracking program, where migrants are tracked either by a check-in app or a GPS monitor.
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This photo shows migrants found at the southern border in Arizona. (US Border Patrol)
But in recent years, the agency has also created separate programs to provide various services and assistance to those who are not in custody. In the letter, the agency says some of those programs are ending. One is the Wraparound Stabilization Service (WSS), which ICE says began in February 2020 and involves working with NGOs to provide “services that provide psychosocial and behavioral health support to vulnerable participants and their families who would benefit from services of additional stabilization”.
ICE says the program stopped referrals in July and that the program was ineffective in what it was intended to do, with only a 2 percent higher compliance rate for those who participated in services compared to those who did not they did
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“ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) notes that the challenge with WSS was its immense cost with little improvement,” he says. “As a result, ERO determined that WSS was not cost-effective enough to continue paying for these services when they did not benefit ICE or help the agency continue its mission.”
ICE had previously cited difficulties with the program, including a complicated identification and referral process, a substantial increase in participants and a lack of resources.
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Migrants wait in line to enter the shelter set up by authorities for migrants as migrants wait for an appointment through the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) application in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on 23 May 2023. (Christian Torres Chavez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The agency also says it had decided in June not to continue with a provider contract for the Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP). This program offered 18- and 19-year-old migrants legal services, controls, referrals to social service programs and human trafficking projections. It started in 2023 and was present in 16 cities.
“In addition to fiscal constraints, a review of the program revealed that YACMP does not align with ERO’s mission or priorities. In short, ERO took steps to realign or discontinue programs to address budget challenges faced by the agency,” the agency’s letter says. .
The letter also provides information on how ATD tracking by app or GPS, known as a Intensive Supervisory Appearance Program (ISAP). ICE said 98.6 percent of those with judicial follow-up showed up for their general court hearings, while 90.4 percent showed up for final hearings. In September, 13.2% of participants were being tracked by an ankle or wrist GPS device, and the average duration of the program was 511.9 days.
Lawmakers had also asked about those who were charged or convicted of crimes while enrolled in ATD. The agency said that in fiscal year 2024, there were 3,913 charges and 688 convictions for program members, including 10 sex offense convictions, 364 traffic offense convictions, two homicide convictions, four kidnapping convictions and 65 convictions for assault.
The incoming Trump administration anticipates a substantial increase in deportations, as President-elect Trump has promised a “historic” mass deportation operation. Fox DigitalI also reported this month that he wants to reduce the number of non-detainees, while increasing the use of ankle monitors on those who cannot be detained.
Conservatives responded to the information provided to lawmakers by calling on the new administration to scrap even more programs that provide services to illegal immigrants.
“ICE is a law enforcement agency, not a charity. The billions of dollars that DHS has wasted bringing millions of illegal aliens into the country and providing them with excessive services should be redirected to get all illegal aliens safely back to their country,” Lora Ries. , director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center on Immigration and Border Security, told Fox News Digital.
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Ries called the services a “boondoggle” and said “there are several other similar initiatives that must meet the same fate under President Trump.”
“Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars in conflict with an agency’s mission, we should see a massive increase in resources to detain and deport illegal aliens. If you don’t support the agency’s mission, you shouldn’t to get a single cent,” he said.
