Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is underreporting the number of illegal aliens released into the country without any tracking technology by more than 18,000%, according to an internal document exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
ICE disseminated the document to participants, including ICE Director Tae Johnson and other top agency officials as well as leaders from nonprofit organizations, of a Thursday event about ICE’s “Alternatives to Detention” program, which the agency put in place in 2004 to monitor illegal aliens released into the U.S. interior with ankle bracelets and cell phones. ICE disclosed to the attendees that there are 49,459 illegal aliens that aren’t monitored with any tracking equipment as of Nov. 14, while its own website says there are 266 as of Nov. 19. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Here’s How ICE Tried To Spin Their ‘Indefensible’ 2021 Report Showing Massive Drop In Deportations, Arrests)
The figure sent to the program attendees is over 18,000% more than the figure ICE has on its website. ICE didn’t respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
“The Biden administration is hostile to transparency, and when it does publish data, it refuses to respond to media inquiries regarding significant discrepancies like this,” a former ICE official with knowledge of the Alternatives to Detention program told the DCNF, confirming the figure was underreported. “Likely, ICE communication staffers are having a lot of difficulty defending this administration’s chaotic and lawless policies.”
An additional person familiar with the program confirmed the accuracy of the number disclosed to event participants.
The agency put Alternatives to Detention in place in 2004, and is used as a “flight-mitigation tool” when illegal aliens are released into the country and are waiting for their years-long court proceedings, according to the document.
ATD Symposium Fact Sheet by Daily Caller News Foundation
The Biden administration continues to face many challenges with immigration enforcement, in part due to a record surge in illegal migration and a push to limit ICE enforcement and deportations since the president took office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered more than 2.3 million migrants at the southern border in fiscal year 2022 and more than 230,000 migrants in October.
Biden’s DHS also attempted to implement a 100-day moratorium on deportations upon entering office, but a federal judge subsequently struck down the policy.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comments from a former ICE official with knowledge of the Alternatives to Detention program.
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