- Migrants arrested under the Trump administration have been released into the U.S. on monitoring programs. Limited detention space and legal constraints are forcing ICE to release some individuals.
- The monitoring programs aim to ensure individuals attend their immigration hearings without resorting to detention.
- President Trump is working to secure deportation deals with non-cooperative countries.
Some migrants arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration have been released back into the United States on a monitoring program. That’s according to NBC News, citing five anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Just last week, Straight Arrow News reported that President Donald Trump was requesting ICE field offices ramp up arrests of migrants residing in the country illegally to between 1,200 and 1,500 per day.
However, space to house the migrants is limited, and according to law, ICE is not allowed to detain them indefinitely.
In December, Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, said ICE needed an additional 100,000 beds for undocumented immigrants who would soon be awaiting deportation.
An ICE spokesperson told NBC News that if the agency has migrants from countries that refuse to repatriate them, ICE could release them back into the U.S.
“The agency’s federal law enforcement officers do everything they can to keep our communities safe,” the spokesperson told NBC News. “In some cases, ICE is required to release certain arrested aliens from custody.”
When a migrant living in the country illegally is released from ICE custody and placed in a monitoring program, they’re subject to electronic monitoring, supervision, case management and regular phone or video check-ins. These programs aim to ensure individuals attend their immigration hearings without resorting to detention.
Meanwhile, Trump is working to secure deals with countries that have not cooperated with U.S. deportations in the past. On Saturday, Feb. 1, Trump announced Venezuela would accept its citizens who were living illegally in the U.S.
