U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been releasing migrant detainees due to overcapacity in detention centers, according to a report from CBS News.
Facilities were at 109 percent capacity on Tuesday, following a release of 160 migrants the day before, according to the outlet which cited internal Department of Homeland Security data it had obtained.
“We are exploring every solution including working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and our state and local law enforcement partners, asking Congress for increased funding, and scrutinizing case files to quickly remove criminal aliens with executable final orders of removal from Department of Justice immigration judges,” ICE said in a statement to CBS News.
The Trump administration has encouraged ICE officials to ramp up raids and arrests with “border czar” Tom Homan touting deportation flights on military aircraft within the president’s first week in office.
Homan has said he would need at least 100,000 detention beds and a significant increase in ICE agents to successfully undertake President Trump’s immigration plans.
ICE officials also are seeking to open 14 new detention sites that could hold as many as 1,000 detainees each, in addition to four larger facilities with 10,000 beds each, according to an internal memo obtained last month by CBS News.
Trump has declared that a Guantanamo Bay facility would be used to detain immigrants who were deported after living in the U.S. illegally.
The Hill reached out to ICE for comment.
News Summary:
- ICE releasing migrant detainees as arrests exceed capacity: Report
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