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Updated 10 May 2023

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The Archbishop of Canterbury argues against the Illegal Migration Bill, but Lord Howard backs it.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has attacked the government's migration plans, saying they risked "great damage" to the UK's reputation.

Justin Welby said the Illegal Migration Bill would not stop small boat crossings, and it failed in "our moral responsibility" towards refugees.

He was speaking as the bill began what is expected to be a rocky passage through the House of Lords.

But Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick urged peers to back the legislation.

Adding that the archbishop was "wrong" in his criticism, he said: "There is nothing moral about allowing the pernicious trade of people smugglers to continue.

"I want to see that stopped, and this bill is the only way to do that," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

He added that critics of the bill, including opposition parties, had not suggested "any viable alternatives" to stop journeys across the Channel.

The archbishop's pointed intervention came during a lengthy, highly charged debate about the bill in the Lords on Wednesday.

The legislation cleared its first parliamentary hurdle in the Lords after a Liberal Democrat bid to block it was rejected by 179 votes to 76.

The bill, unveiled in March, is a key part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plan to "stop" small boats crossing the English Channel - which he has made a priority ahead of the next general election.

It will place a legal duty on the home secretary to detain and remove those arriving in the UK illegally, to Rwanda or another "safe" third country.

This has prompted outrage from opposition parties and charities, which argue the bill is unworkable and could breach international law.

'Short-term fix'

The archbishop, one of nearly 90 peers who have put their names down to speak in the debate, told the Lords the bill "fails utterly" to take long-term view of the migration challenges around the world.

Although he conceded existing international law was in need of updating, he said the bill represented a "dramatic departure" from existing conventions and would undermine international co-operation on the issue.

Describing the bill as a "short-term fix," he said it "risks great damage to the UK's interests and reputation, at home and abroad".

He added it was "morally unacceptable and politically impractical" for the UK to let the poorest countries deal with asylum seekers when the UK is cutting its international aid spending.

Baroness Helic, a former adviser to William Hague when he was foreign secretary, described the government's plans to stop small boats as "a race to the bottom".

The baroness, who fled to the UK from war-torn Bosnia at the age of 23, argued the Illegal Migration Bill represented "an outright ban on asylum" and questioned its morality.

But other peers spoke for the bill, including Conservative Lord Forsyth, who said he was "yet to hear" a solution to stop boat crossings from critics of the bill.

He congratulated the archbishop for his "fantastic job" at the Coronation on Saturday, but added that while he agreed with him on spiritual matters, they disagreed on the bill.

He said he agreed it needed further scrutiny, but it was "not reasonable to criticise the government for trying to deal with this problem".

The government made a series of concessions to different sections of the Conservative Party to ease its passage through the Commons last month.

However, senior peers have told the BBC they expect significant opposition in the Lords - where the government does not have a majority.

Although peers did not vote on amendments during the debate, it was their first chance to have a say on the bill.

Lib Dem peer Lord Paddick put forward a rare "motion to decline" that would have blocked the bill from continuing in the Lords, forcing the government to reintroduce it from scratch in the Commons.

But the motion was heavily defeated in the Lords, with peers rejecting it by 179 votes to 76, majority 103.

Lord Paddick said: "This Bill is all pain and no gain. This is a question of principle."

Labour peer Lord Coaker said that although his party was against the bill, the Lib Dem motion was not the best way to oppose it.

He said Labour would do "all we can" to change the bill at a later stage, vowing that the party would not be "cowed" into accepting the verdict of the Commons.

Modern slavery concerns

The government has also faced strong criticism from senior Tories, including former Prime Minister Theresa May and former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, over the potential impact of the bill on victims of modern slavery.

The bill would take away temporary protections against removal from the UK that are currently offered to suspected victims of modern slavery or human trafficking while their case is considered.

Critics say this could deter victims from going to the police.

There has also been concern, including among Conservative MPs, over new powers in the bill to detain children on the suspicion that they are liable for removal.

Ministers have agreed to work with Tory MPs on a time limit for how long unaccompanied children can be detained.

To get the bill through the Commons, ministers also promised to set out new safe and legal routes for asylum seekers, after pressure from backbenchers.

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Migration bill risks damage to UK's reputation, says Archbishop of Canterbury - BBC

Twitter owner and billionaire Elon Musk argued that the American public was not fully aware of the border crisis Monday, just days before a Trump-era control policy is scheduled to end.

"I dont think the American public understands that people from all countries are crossing the southern border, as it is so easy to do so," Musk tweeted Monday.

Musk was responding to a video that purportedly showed the Texas Tactical Border Force deployed in advance of the end of Title 42. Former President Trump and his administration used Title 42 to expel hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from various countries to Mexico, but that policy has only days left before it expires.

MIGRANTS SURGE BY US-MEXICO BORDER AHEAD OF TITLE 42 EXPIRATION

Twitter owner and billionaire Elon Musk argued that the American public was not fully aware of the border crisis Monday, just days before a Trump-era border control policy is scheduled to end. (Muhammed Selim Korkutata / Anadolu Agency)

Assuming a court order doesnt interrupt the process, Title 42 will lapse on May 11 at 11:59 pm.

The news has been met with a clear response at the southern border, as tens of thousands of migrants are reportedly surging at the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of Title 42's expiration.

In the Texas border city of El Paso, about 2,200 migrants are currently camped or living on the streets a few blocks from major ports of entry that connect El Paso with the Mexican city of Jurez. The city is prepared to open up shelters next week if needed at two vacant school buildings and a civic center.

Three cities in Texas have declared a state of emergency, including El Paso, Brownsville and Laredo.

ABBOTT ACTIVATES 'TEXAS TACTICAL BORDER FORCE,' 545 MORE NATIONAL GUARDSMEN DEPLOYED BEFORE TITLE 42 EXPIRES

Mayorkas claimed that "[t]he border is not open" during a recent press conference in Brownsville, Texas. (Fox News)

El Paso mayor and Democrat Oscar Leeser is also warning that an "unknown" number of illegal immigrants will cross the border as Title 42 ends.

"We are getting prepared now for the unknown. The unknown is how many people will come here," El Paso mayor Oscar Leeser told reporters this month, according to The New York Times.

"Federal immigration laws are broken, and they didnt break during this administration or the last administration," Leeser said. "We have to figure out where we are heading. There is no light at the end of the tunnel."

MAYORKAS RIPPED FOR SAYING THERE ARE ORDERLY PATHWAYS TO ENTER COUNTRY LEGALLY: THATS FOR SUCKERS'

Biden border czar Alejandro Mayorkas has continually defended his part in the border crisis after criticism from Republicans and Democrats.

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Mayorkas said Sunday that illegal immigration is a "decades-long problem" that "hasn't been fixed since the '90s" and also claimed that "[t]he border is not open" during a recent press conference in Brownsville, Texas.

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Elon Musk says many Americans don't know that illegal immigrants 'from all countries' are crossing border - Fox News

The decision by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and former Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) to begin busing illegal immigrants to Democrat-run sanctuary cities has been a political masterclass in forcing your opponents to recognize a problem of their own making, and it is now paying dividends for the 2024 elections.

President Joe Biden has dropped New York City Mayor Eric Adams as a campaign surrogate after Adamss repeated criticism of the administrations handling of the border crisis. Adams had been repeatedly asking for federal aid as Texas and Arizona bused illegal immigrants to New York City, very quickly claiming that the city was overwhelmed after receiving a small fraction of what much smaller border towns have been absorbing for years.

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This came to a head last month, when Adams outright said that the president and the White House have failed this city. Adams and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander also took a swipe at Gov. Kathy Hochul and the delays in aid promised by the state budget.

As a result, Adams has been dumped by Biden, with anonymous quotes coming out from the advisory board that Adamss comments are almost certainly what got him the boot and that the relationship has soured. The immigration crisis has put a wedge between Biden and the Democratic mayor of the biggest city in the country, all because Abbott and Ducey made sure that New York City was experiencing a smaller version of what their own border towns have lived through since Biden came to office.

This is the cherry on top of an exercise that exposed Adams, as well as Democrats in Chicago and Washington D.C., as being hypocrites when it comes to sanctuary cities and illegal immigration.

The buses of illegal immigrants have left those cities whining about the strain on their resources, erasing their sanctimonious attitudes toward border states that have endured the brunt of this crisis from the beginning. You can only imagine how much worse the complaining will be with the upcoming surge at the border as Title 42 expires.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Abbott and Ducey both deserve credit for this move, which could have easily been a weak political stunt if executed poorly.

Instead, by simply asking sanctuary cities to live up to their names, they have caused widespread introspection (or, at the very least, involuntary admissions of failures) among Democrats running these cities. It was an incredible play, and one Republicans should keep in mind as the border crisis prepares to grow even worse.

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Abbott and Ducey busing illegal immigrants to Democratic cities was ... - Washington Examiner

Editor's note: Word around the campfire is that Border Patrol is gathering up more than 10,000 illegal aliens a day at the United States-Mexico border. Confusion is everywhere. Some illegals tried to get to this country before a policy deadline Thursday night, and some waited for after that same policy deadline. Here is a speech we offer free to the president of the United States. The White House is more than welcome to copy and paste this to a TelePrompTer:

Good evening. Usually presidents of the United States address the American people in these kinds of speeches, or, in times of emergency, perhaps the entire world. I address these remarks to a special few--a special few thousand, or maybe tens of thousands, massing in northern Mexico.

Where to begin? I understand that United States Border Control is already seeing a massive wave of illegal immigrants, and expects more in the days to come. The newspapers of this country say there is much confusion among immigrants in northern Mexico, who come from countries all over Latin America. Maybe even beyond. Some of these border crossers told the press that they rushed to get here before Title 42 expired; some told the press exactly the opposite--that they were waiting in Mexico until the expiration was official. This is what happens when smugglers and coyotes not only take control of some folks' life savings, but their information, or rather misinformation, sources.

I understand that "the beginning" is always a good place to start. So let's note this first: The United States has always been a nation of immigrants, even before there was a United States. And that's not going to change. Sure, there are cranks, but most thinking Americans know that our economy benefits from having immigrants work in many occupations.

From the Irish fleeing a potato famine, to Germans fleeing fascism, to Asians looking to escape poverty--and for all those from other parts of the world looking for their own American Dream--this country has not only accepted them over the centuries, but for the most part, welcomed them.

Having said that . . . .

This is a nation of laws, including immigration laws. Those who cross our borders illegally will be treated like illegal aliens, as any other nation would treat those who ignore its internationally recognized borders.

As for this Title 42 policy that has been twisted and turned around to supposedly say anything that a human trafficker wants it to say: It is true that the previous administration created Title 42 during the pandemic to expel immigrants on the fast track, and that policy ended with a sunset clause this past week. But that is not, repeat not, an open invitation. My administration plans to implement new limits on immigrants, and those who don't qualify will be quickly sent back to their own countries.

Yes, my administration will send you back. We have plans already drawn up to do just that. And that long, treacherous, expensive, often deadly trip you made to northern Mexico will be for nothing. Don't do it.

You might have heard that I've deployed more American soldiers to the border in anticipation of this so-called wave. They are there to block this wave. Governors of certain border states are using their own National Guards to free up Border Patrol for more surveillance and watch-keeping. Like most other nations of the world, the United States is serious about its border.

Citizens of the United States know how lucky they are to live here. And we understand that people flow toward jobs like water flows downhill. But we demand that our laws are followed and, just as we've developed ways to build levees to keep floods from our homes, we have developed ways to keep illegal immigration from flooding our borders. Including holding cells. And more Border Patrol funding. And bus tickets heading down south.

To those who've done things the legal way, the appropriate way, and have taken their turn in line, I say: Welcome to the United States.

For those who'd skip the line and break our laws to illegally sneak into this country, we as Americans say: Here's your bus ticket home.

Thank you, and God bless--not just the United States of America, but all those who'd become fellow citizens of this country in the future.

Provided they get here legally.

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EDITORIAL: Our dream speech (and probably only in our dreams) - Arkansas Online

In 1996, Congress created a process for expedited removalREF of aliens presenting themselves at a U.S. port of entry (POE) without a visa or who are apprehended by the Border Patrol while attempting to enter illegally between POEs.REF These inadmissible aliens can be removed without further hearing or review unless they express an intention to apply for asylum or a fear of persecution on specified grounds. If they do express that credible fear, according to the statute the aliens shall be detained pending a final determination of credible fear of persecution, and, if found not to have such a fear, until removed.REF If an alien is not eligible for expedited removal, then the alien shall be detained for a [non-expedited removal] proceeding.REF

In general, therefore, the DHS is required by law to detain all aliens arriving illegally in the U.S. throughout the completion of applicable proceedings.REF Immigration detention is a tool to ensure compliance with immigration law, particularly removal. During historical surges in illegal arrivals, however, detention of all illegal aliens encountered at the border has been difficult to achieve, as the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS),REF and today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have limited detention space.

The DHS refers to aliens who are in removal proceedings, but are not detained, as being on the non-detained docket (NDD). In 2003, the INS Inspector General reported that only 13 percent of aliens on the NDD who had final orders of removal were, in fact, removed.REF To increase compliance, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) started the ATD program in 2004.

ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division is responsible for the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program. The intent of the ATD program was to monitor aliens on the NDD with technology and supervision by case officers while their removal proceedings were pending, and thus increase compliance with final orders of removal.REF At the conclusion of an aliens immigration court process, unless he was granted asylum or other immigration benefit, an alien taking part in ATDs would surrender to ICE for detention and eventual removal. ICEs criteria for placing individuals on ATD include current immigration status; criminal history; compliance history; community or family ties; being a caregiver or provider; medical conditions; and other humanitarian factors.REF

ICE officers, not the federal contractor implementing ATD, decide not only which aliens to enroll and remove from the program, but also which level of supervision is appropriate in each case. Supervision options include the technology discussed below, as well as the alien checking in personally or visits by contractors or ICE officers to an aliens home. ICE states that it may escalate or de-escalate [an aliens] supervision level by considering certain factors.REF However, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in 2022 that ICE does not ensure ATD supervision reviews are conducted according to policy, nor within the times specified in its own guidance.REF The factors for raising or lowering supervision levels within ATD appear to have more to do with resource constraints and political optics than law enforcement efficacy.

The largest ATD program in terms of numbers of enrolled aliens and budget is the ISAP, which began in 2004.REF

To manage its large caseloads, ICE has contracted with BI Incorporated to run ISAP since 2004. The most recent five-year contract was signed in March 2020 for $2.2 billion.REF The contractor uses three types of technology to keep track of aliens who are in removal proceedings and enrolled in the ISAP:

Of the three ISAP options involving tracking technology, ankle bracelets with GPS monitoring cost $2.75 a day per alien, SmartLINK costs a dollar a day, and VoiceID costs 18 cents a day per user.REF ICE estimates that, on average, ATD costs $8 per participant in total per day, whereas detention costs $150 per day.REF Still, something mismanaged is expensive at any price.

The DHS acknowledges that most inadmissible aliens are economic migrants, and that most migrants who are initially deemed eligible to pursue their credible fear claims ultimately are not granted asylum in the subsequent Department of Justice immigration court removal proceedings.REF This reality argues strongly in favor of detaining them as the law requires.

The DHS produces immigration enforcement lifecycle reports of cases from initial immigration encounter to ultimate disposition, a process that can take many years. Not surprisingly, these reports show that aliens who are detained during their entire removal proceedings are likely to be deported if a court gives a final order of removal, whereas those not detained are rarely deported.REF Despite this evidence, the Biden Administration claims that it lacks resources to detain inadmissible aliens at the border, though it has never fully used the detention beds that Congress has funded. Under President Biden, the DHS has detained at most 25,000 inadmissible aliens at any one time, and in its most recent budget request, the DHS reduced detention facility capacity by 25 percent, a decrease of 9,000 beds.REF

When illegal aliens are released instead of detained, it is not credible to expect a high percentage of them to voluntarily attend their final hearings, where they are likely to be given orders to depart. ATD programs with GPS monitoring or required reporting throughout an aliens entire immigration court process would prevent such court absences. Despite the evidence that ATDs can increase compliance with hearing attendance and removal procedures if used throughout the aliens proceedings, ICE is currently releasing the majority of aliens placed into ATD long before their cases conclude. With the exception of high-priority criminals, ICEs low volume of total annual arrests and deportationsREF indicates that the Biden Administration is making little effort to track down those who disappear or are released from ATDs on their own recognizance and then fail to attend hearings or comply with court orders.

DHS Enrolls Insufficient Numbers of Aliens in ATDs. Since March 2021, monthly illegal-alien encounters at the Southern border have averaged more than 150,000, and several months more than 200,000.REF One credible expert estimates that more than two million illegal aliens encountered at the border have been released into the U.S. interior since President Biden took office.REF According to ICE, nearly 5 million cases were already on the NDD at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2022.REF However, as of March 11, 2023, ICE was supervising only 287,299 aliens under ATDs.REF The DHS budget for ATD in FY 2023 includes a total of $527.1 million (an increase of $79 million over 2022), to cover an intended 170,000 total participants.REF That is nowhere near the number of inadmissible aliens likely to be released in FY 2023. A possible explanation for why the DHS is asking for more money to supervise fewer people under ATDs this year is that it intends to prioritize funding of social services over enforcement programs, as discussed below.

Aliens Released from ATDs Prematurely. On average, an alien participating in ATDs is enrolled for only 14 months to 18 months, a sharp contrast from the four-year-to-five-year average time it takes to conclude an asylum case.REF From November 2014 through December 2020, according to a Government Accountability Office report, 79 percent of ATD participants were unenrolled before their immigration cases were concluded.REF In a recent stakeholder engagement session with ICE, a participant asked what percentage of [aliens] are terminated from ISAP prior to their immigration cases completion? The answer from ICE, two months later, was that approximately 90% of participants were terminated from ISAP and migrated to Non-Detained statusthe majority were still in removal proceedings.REF ICEs decision to remove a particular alien from ATD does not seem clearly linked to that aliens likelihood of compliance with their immigration proceeding to its conclusion.REF

In addition to ICE releasing ATD participants from the program early, aliens violate their ATD conditions. From November 2014 to December 2020, the overall rate of absconsion (aliens removing tracking devices, not checking in, or otherwise failing to adhere to the program) was 17 percent.REF Conversely, for those ATD cases in which ICE elects to assign an additional court tracking service (the contractor tracks ATD participants court hearing schedules and attendance), 99 percent of such aliens attended all their scheduled immigration hearings in FYs 2015 to 2020.REF However, from November 2014 through December 2020, ICE assigned court tracking to only 39 percent (125,259) of all participants (320,152).REF

No Consequences for Failure to Adhere to ATD. In a December 2022 ATD seminar, ICE claimed that those who do not report [to the contractor, ICE, or court according to the release conditions under ATD] are subject to arrest and potential removal.REF The results show otherwise. Under the Biden Administration, deportation has dropped precipitously, from 186,000 in 2020, an already low number due to COVID-19, to only 59,011 in 2021 and 72,000 in 2022.REF Although 400,000 of the aliens currently on the NDD have been convicted of more serious crimes (in addition to the millions who are in removal proceedings for entering or remaining in the U.S. illegally), ICEs budget for FYs 2023 and 2024 has set targets of deporting only 29,389 such aliens.REF From these figures, it follows that aliens who simply fail to report under the ATD program stand a low chance of being arrested, much less removed.

Around 3.5 percent of issued ankle monitors and mobile devices are reported as lost by the participating alien.REF According to ICE guidelines, GPS trackers should be assigned to the highest-risk cases, but making this risk-management tool effective requires swift follow-up when problems arise. For example, in April 2022, a Colombian who was on a U.S. terrorism watchlist was arrested when attempting to enter the U.S. illegally at the border in Arizona, then released with a GPS tracker under the ISAP.REF Once ICE realized that he was on the watchlist, it took ICE two weeks to arrest himin Florida.

ATDs are not as good as immigration detention, but when properly and thoroughly used, tracking and supervision with technology is better than nothing to improve the likelihood that aliens comply with their immigration proceedings. However, the Biden Administrations immigration policy is directed by ideologues who strongly oppose enforcement. President Bidens head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Ur Jaddou, was formerly head of DHS Watch at Americas Voice, a group that advocated amnesty (a path to legalization) for illegal aliens and against the Migrant Protection Protocols and Asylum Cooperative Agreements that successfully reduced pull factors for illegal immigrants during the Trump Administration.REF

White House Policy Advisor on immigration and border issues Katherine PantangcoREF previously worked at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she oversaw a team of immigrant rights field organizers who built deportation defense networks in the wake of the Trump administration.REF The ACLU advocates and regularly sues the federal government on behalf of illegal aliens, and the organizations agenda opposes detention of illegal immigrants and interior enforcement.REF

Leidy Perez-Davis, special assistant to the president for immigration in the Biden White House, previously worked at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), which believes that all asylum seekers deserve to find safe haven in the United States.REF This appears to mean that the ASAP believes that all foreigners merely seeking asylum, not just those whose claims are legitimate, should be allowed to remain in the U.S. In fact, roughly nine of 10 putative asylum claimants are not granted asylumREF because the aliens do not apply after passing a credible fear interview, or fail to complete the full process, or because an immigration judge rules that they do not qualify for asylum.REF

The Open Borders project believes that [f]reedom of movement is a fundamental human liberty and it would be anti-liberty to restrict migration in any way.REF The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) says that no one should ever be detained and has called for Congress to cut funding for ICE and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under both the TrumpREF and BidenREF Administrations. Activists who support limitless immigration are not only against detention, but they also oppose any ATDs that track migrants. For example, Just Futures Law opposes any digital surveillance of illegal immigrants (such as GPS bracelets), calling it e-carceration.REF

The Biden Administrations immigration policies align with those of the ASAP, ACLU, and other activist groups that believe in a universal right of migration and seek to defund immigration enforcement. ICE invited more than 100 stakeholders from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academia, and private industry to its December 2022 symposium on ATDs, many of which advocate reduced immigration detention and enforcement, and some of which will benefit from increased funding for the non-ISAP social services ATD programs.REF

Under the Biden Administration, two new programs have been added under ATD: the Case Management Pilot Program (CMPP) in 2021, and the Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP) in 2022.REF The CMPP and the YACMP are examples of the Biden Administrations preference for weak alternative [ATD] programs with no accountabilityREF that focus on providing social services to aliens and not on ensuring their compliance with court process and eventual removal.

The CMPP receives $5 million in funding to provide voluntary case management and other services to [aliens] in immigration removal proceedings.REF Law enforcement does not feature in CMPPs motto, which is Trauma Informed Case Management.REF The CMPP claims to conform to the DHS Strategic Plan for FYs 2020 to 2024, specifically with the goal of enforcing immigration laws throughout the United States in a manner that upholds the rule of law, American values, and national security.REF Yet, the CMPP assists aliens who have broken U.S. immigration law, provides them with social services not offered to many needy American citizens, and does nothing to further national security.

The CMPPs governing National Board is chaired by the DHS Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, not someone from ICEs ERO, and it is made up of NGOs with experience providing and evaluating case management programs for asylees and refugees.REF The CMPP supplement[s] existing Alternatives to Detention programs and inform[s] best practices moving forward.REF The CMPPs national board includes the Church World Service (CWS), which has opposed ICE and the enforcement of immigration law.REF The CWS acts as the administrator of the CMPP and oversees grants to NGOs and local governments to provide a list of social services to illegal aliens, some of whom are enrolled in ATDs. These include mental health services; human and sex trafficking screening; legal orientation programs; cultural orientation programs; connections to social services; and for individuals who will be removed, reintegration services.REF The Grants Notice for NGOs and local government recipients stated that connection to a range of services that CMPP participants identify as a priority could include access to counsel, affordable housing, childcare, transportation, healthcare, schooling, language classes, and orientation.REF Providing such comprehensive services and cultural orientation programs to people who have a slim chance of being granted asylum indicates that the Biden Administration has little intention of enforcing judgments other than those allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S.

The YACMP is intended for 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds catch-and-release cases at the border.REF In September 2022, the DHS awarded an $80 million contract to Acuity International for the YACMP. The contract explicitly bans the use of GPS tracking, leaving only VoiceID and other methods that depend on aliens complying with the supervision. When participants eventually fail to do so, or are removed from the ATD program, they are highly unlikely to be detained or deported, given the Administrations non-enforcement priorities.REF Under the contract with Acuity, the YACMP will develop a network of age-appropriate and culturally sensitive community resources including trauma-informed care. Acuity must also provide deported YACMP aliens with a support system in their home countries upon deportation.REF

As of March 2023, Acuity was actively recruiting case managers in 16 U.S. cities (seven of which are known sanctuary cities) from San Diego to Boston to handle this youth ATD program.REF Under the YACMP, the Administration will be providing significant government support and financing to a population of indigent foreign youth, while sending thousands of putative 18-to-19-year-olds, mostly male, into U.S. cities already experiencing high crime, homelessness, and budget shortfalls.REF

In addition to defying mandatory detention and other enforcement provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Biden Administration has significantly shifted ATDs away from their intended or useful purpose. The DHS and Congress must ensure that the laws are enforced and direct funding and resources accordingly.

Congress should:

The DHS should:

Immigration detention is a necessary means to protect public safety, prevent flight, and to ensure removal. ATDs can be a backup for detention when there is no other option, but they are only effective when properly implemented. This Administration is not applying ATDs with the objective to enforce immigration law. Congress needs to take back control from the administrative state, increase detention resources for ICE, and require the Biden Administration to fully use those resources. Congress should also rescind funds that have been siphoned off from ATD towards social services that do not result in increased compliance and end those benefit programs.

Simon Hankinson is Senior Research Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation.

Excerpt from:
Alternatives to Detention for Illegal Aliens: Effective with Mandatory ... - Heritage.org