ICE considers plan to release thousands of migrants, cut back on detention beds: report

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Friday, February 16, 2024

Migrants walk by the jungle near Bajo Chiquito village, the first border control of the Darien Province in Panama, on September 22, 2023. The clandestine journey through the Darien Gap usually lasts five or six days, at the mercy of all kinds of bad weather and cartels involved in human trafficking and drug smuggling. | Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly considering the release of thousands of migrants and cutting down on its capacity to hold detainees to save money amid ongoing concerns about the situation at the U.S. southern border.

As The Washington Post reported Wednesday, four unnamed officials with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security say that an internal proposal is being considered to save money after the failure of the border bill.

The news comes after Republicans opposed a border bill earlier this month that would’ve provided $6 billion in supplemental funding to ICE. Republicans argued that the legislation would have worsened the border crisis by codifying the catch-and-release policy, among other issues with the bill.

The reported proposal would include releasing thousands of detainees and reducing the number of detention beds from 38,000 to 22,000, according to The Post.

ICE did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.

In response to The Post’s report, U.S. Sen Jon Tester, D-Mont., wrote to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, urging them to pass legislation to secure the border. The Democrat accused his colleagues of opposing the border bill for the purpose of “political gain.”

“I am calling on you both to stop playing politics and pass this bill as soon as possible. What is happening at the southern border is unacceptable, plain and simple,” Tester wrote in a letter. “Montanans from every corner of my state tell me they want a secure border and a solution to the fentanyl crisis.”

“Congress had an opportunity to do both just last week. Unfortunately, both of you used your leadership positions to defeat this bipartisan proposal after months of negotiations between our Republican and Democratic colleagues,” he continued. “While those members that joined you in opposing the bill want to leave the border open for another year, Montanans are fed up and expect their representatives to take action now.”

Earlier this month, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, listed 12 ways the proposed legislation would reportedly worsen the border crisis instead of securing it. Lee claimed the bill would allow up to 1.8 million illegal aliens to enter the country before the border could temporarily be closed.

“The Secretary of Homeland Security is only required to shut down the border if there are 5,000 average illegal crossings over a consecutive seven-day period or 8,500 in a single day,” the senator argued. “The Secretary may shut down the border if crossings are at 4,000 daily average over a consecutive seven-day period. Even during a border emergency, this bill requires the administration to process a minimum of 1,400 illegal immigrants a day. This is 400 more per day than Obama’s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said constituted a crisis in 2019.”

Lee said the bill would allow the president of the United States to reopen the border any time it is in the “national interest to temporarily suspend the border emergency authority” for up to 45 days.

Regarding funding for ICE, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president was threatening to reduce funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the coming weeks.

The press secretary said that this meant ICE “would be forced to reduce its removal operations, its total detention capacity, and more. When ICE can’t conduct these operations, our national security and public safety will be harmed.”

In response, Republicans accused the Biden administration of “threatening the American people.”

Rep. Austin Pfluger, R-Texas, tweeted, “President Biden has now resorted to threatening the American people with an even worse border crisis. The President already has the tools and authority he needs to close the border. This crisis is intentional.”

Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman