ImmigrationMost temporarily released undocumented immigrants fail to report
Since October 2013, approximately 60,000 Central American families, mostly women and children, have crossed the U.S.-Mexican border. Many have been detained and housed in federal immigration detention facilities, but when facilities reached their capacity earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities began to release tens of thousands of immigrants to temporarily reside with their relatives in the United States. About 70 percent of immigrant – or 41,000 — failed to report back to immigration officials fifteen days after their release date as instructed to.
Since October 2013, approximately 60,000 Central American families, mostly women and children, have crossed the U.S.-Mexican border. Many have been detained and housed in federal immigration detention facilities, but when facilities reached their capacity earlier this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities began to release tens of thousands of immigrants to temporarily reside with their relatives in the United States.
MyFoxDFW reports that the AP has obtained an audio recording of a confidential meeting between DHS officials and immigration advocates participating in a federal working group on detention and enforcement policies. The recording reveals that 70 percent of immigrant failed to report back to immigration officials fifteen days after their release date as instructed to. The recording did not specify the total number of immigrants released into the United States since October 2013, but considering that only a few hundred families have been sent back to their homes, and designated U.S. detention facilities can house only about 1,200 family members, the 70 percent figure suggests roughly 41,000 members of immigrant families ordered to report back to federal immigration offices are now unaccounted for.
ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said that the number of immigrants who have yet to report back represents “an approximate snapshot” of cases since May. She added that some immigrants may still report to immigration court hearings and a “significant” number of deportation cases are still pending before judges.
Republican lawmakers have blamed recent immigration setbacks on the Obama administration’s failure to enforce current immigration laws. “With this administration’s failure to enforce our immigration laws, it is no surprise that 70 percent of the families released take their chances to stay here and don’t show up for their follow-up appointments or court dates,” House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), said.
Immigration advocates at the DHS working group meeting questioned whether the detention centers were punishing immigrants who would eventually win asylum claims. An ICE official present at the meeting said detaining immigrants would ensure they would not vanish. In June, immigration officials opened a temporary detention center at a federal training center in Artesia, New Mexico to reduce the number of immigrants failing to report back after fifteen days. Soon after, an immigration jail in Texas was converted to house 530 immigrants, and another detention center is planned to open in Texas later this year.
