A record number of migrants, not detained, and being monitored by the federal agency (2.4 million more than before Joe Biden became president), were concealed in documents describing the "Release and Reporting Management" (RRM) program. This is reported by the New York Post.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is monitoring 5.7 million migrants in the US, to whom the Biden administration may soon provide free medical services, food, and even housing.
According to the plan, service providers will join ICE in monitoring migrants through ankle monitors, phone apps, and personal checks.
This initiative is also aimed at providing non-citizens with a range of other benefits at the expense of taxpayers.
Former ICE director Tom Homan stated that the program would cost billions and would essentially become a "welfare program" for non-detained immigrants awaiting court proceedings.
"RRM is simply an attempt by open borders advocates to provide social benefits to six million people," said the former ICE director.
According to a September Request for Information (RFI) published by ICE, RRM is expected to "replace all non-detention ICE programs" and will be "applicable to all non-detention cases." The publication specifies: "Currently, the number of non-detained individuals is 5.7 million."
Those in ICE custody for processing at the border or in facilities awaiting deportation are not included in this number.
Services for all RRM participants will include "legal assistance; psychosocial services; therapeutic services; medical services; food and clothing banks; housing; public transportation information; parental information; education information; repatriation and reintegration services."
"These services are designed to enhance compliance with immigration obligations through information, stabilization, and support. Services will be provided in consideration of the individual needs of each participant and may range from basic recommendations to intensive direct assistance," the RFI states.
Homan criticized the program for providing legal assistance to migrants who cross the border.
"They're going to use taxpayer dollars to provide legal assistance to illegal aliens to fight the government," he noted. "All these services combined are a massive giveaway that will cost billions of dollars."
According to ICE, in the 2020 fiscal year, the number of migrants under ICE supervision in the country was 3.26 million, increasing to 4.7 million by the 2022 fiscal year.
When migrants arrive in the US seeking asylum, most of them are required to check in regularly at an ICE office where they reside. Others wear ankle monitors or must check in through an app with facial recognition capabilities.
In 2021, there was an average of 125 people per case manager, responsible for overseeing them.
In August, ICE sent a Request for Information form to American "service providers" to determine their interest in participating in the government-funded program.
The Biden administration, as stated in the ICE Q&A form, is in the planning stage and has not yet rolled out the RRM program but plans to send out a "Request for Proposals" to providers in the 2024 fiscal year.
According to the RFI, RRM is expected to replace its "predecessor" - the Alternative to Detention (ATD) program introduced in 2004. The new initiative will "require additional funding" currently allocated to ATD.
According to ICE estimates, in the 2023 fiscal year, only 194,632 migrants are tracked using GPS or other technologies as part of the ATD program, which means millions of migrants are wandering around the country without monitoring.
During Biden's presidency, US Customs and Border Protection has faced a record number of migrants. According to the agency's data, only in the 2022 fiscal year, their number exceeded 2.76 million.
A Department of Homeland Security report noted that the government previously admitted to losing track of 177,000 migrants after they were released in the US.
