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The Biden administration is reportedly looking at a new program to roll back the use of detention for illegal immigrants, instead releasing them on the condition they remain under a curfew.
Sources briefed on the situation told Fox News that the Biden administration has steadily been increasing the use of “alternatives to detention” (ATD), including tracking bracelets, smartphone apps and telephone reporting, rather than detaining migrants. This allows them to live and work in the U.S.
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The Biden administration has been facing a surge in migrant encounters that is moving into its second year and is seeing more migrants from countries like Russia and India making their way to the border. There were approximately 1.7 million migrant encounters in FY 2021.
In this July 25, 2019, file photo, Mexican officials and United States Border Patrol officers return a group of migrants to the Mexico side of the border as Mexican immigration officials check a list, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. (AP Photo/Salvador Gonzalez, File)
The administration has faced criticism from the right for encouraging migrants with calls for amnesty and the rollback of Trump-era programs. Meanwhile, left-wing lawmakers and activists have criticized the administration for not going further in removing hurdles to claiming asylum.
Now, according to reports from Axios and Reuters, the Biden administration is rolling out a new pilot program that will place hundreds of migrants on house arrest in Houston and Baltimore. Those enrolled in the program will be expected to be at home between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. with exceptions for work and other exceptional circumstances, Reuters reported.
Axios reports that the pilot program is expected to be followed by a nationwide program later this year, and comes as the number of illegal immigrants in ATD shot up from 35,000 when President Biden took office to just under 179,000 now.
President Biden delivers remarks on the debt ceiling during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House Oct. 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republicans have been critical of the expansion of ATD and similar programs, warning that they encourage illegal immigration and are easy for illegal immigrants to avoid.
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“We have people who are getting ankle monitors but then cutting them off as soon as they get to their final destination within the U.S,” Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., told Fox News. “If we enforced the laws on the books and said, ‘No, you aren’t able to come here illegally, you are not welcome here illegally,’ then we would be in a situation where we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.”
Former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller warned that “releasing illegals w/free phones & watches will result in ZERO deportations (by design).”
“Detention is the predicate to deportation,” Miller tweeted. “The radical left’s goal is to get as close to zero deportations as possible. That’s what this is all about.”
However, left-wing groups also opposed the expanded surveillance that would come with the program.
“Immigration detention is inhumane, abusive and unjust – full stop,” Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network, said in a statement. “Reducing the number of people behind bars in immigration detention should be the Biden administration’s utmost priority. It is deeply concerning that instead the administration is growing the detention system while simultaneously growing reliance on e-incarceration.”
