Biden Ramps Up Alternatives to Detention
From Axios:
The Biden administration is poised to reshape the way the government tracks undocumented immigrants awaiting court proceedings, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: There are nearly 180,000 undocumented immigrants in the U.S. already being monitored with ankle bracelets and other traceable devices. The administration is planning an expanded home confinement and curfew pilot program — with the aim of curbing for-profit detention spaces.
- President Biden made ending for-profit detention a campaign promise. He hasn’t fulfilled it yet, but Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently called detention reform a priority.
- It would surely face criticism from those on the right who think harsh detention policies are necessary to curb illegal immigration.
- A growing court backlog already means a years-long wait for immigrants in monitoring programs.
Since taking office in January 2021, the president and his team have been chipping away at the reliance on detention facilities.
- They’ve been investing in alternatives allowing migrants to live and work in the United States while awaiting further court proceedings.
During that same period, there’s been a record number of migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- The influx has continued this year, and the demographic breakdown of those crossing has been changing.
- People are coming from farther away — including Haiti, Venezuela and in some cases as far as India — to reach Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Driving the news: The new pilot program will launch in Baltimore and Houston with a couple hundred immigrants in the coming weeks, according to a DHS official.
- A nationwide program is expected later this year.
- It will involve stricter monitoring than other alternative-to-detention (ATD) programs right now, but the specific requirements as to when someone must be at home could vary by case, Axios is told.
Between the lines: The administration has already stopped keeping migrant families in detention centers, as Axios has reported.
- And during the last three weeks, half of the single adults who attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border have been released with ankle bracelets or other tracking mechanisms, according to the official.
- That population had typically been locked up. Read more…