When Jose Antonio Ibarra of Venezuela first crossed the U.S.-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, in September 2022, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had approximately 8,100 detention beds available. . Instead of keeping Ybarra in a detention space, ICE released him into the interior of the United States.
A year and a half later, Ybarra was arrested and charged with the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley in Athens, Georgia.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said during a Senate hearing Thursday that the department had no reason to detain him, even though there were thousands of ICE detention beds available at the time. , suggested that Ybarra’s release to the U.S. interior was justified. About his release.
Mayorkas told Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security subcommittee, that “there is no information that we have that indicates that this individual is in custody. There was no derogatory information that could be forced.”
Laken Riley was allegedly murdered by Jose Antonio Ybarra in Athens, Georgia in February. Ybarra was released at the border without being taken into custody by DHS. (Facebook/CCSO)
In another incident revealed this week, it was revealed that President Joe Biden’s DHS released 48-year-old Mohammad Karwin from Afghanistan into the U.S. interior in March 2023.At the time of his release, ICE numbers It shows that approximately 7,000 detention beds were available.
Kerwin was later found to be a member of the terrorist organization Hezb-e-Islam and was on the federal government’s “terrorist watch list.”
Experts told Breitbart News that the Biden administration supports a policy of mass releases at the border, supports ending post-release surveillance of migrants, and continues to seek to water down ICE detention. I am striving to achieve this goal.
For example, in Biden’s latest fiscal year 2025 budget request, Mayorkas calls for: 34,000 ICE detention beds – down from the 41,500 detention beds funded by Congress in the spending package approved last month and accepted by the administration in a bill proposed by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Democrats. This is far below the 50,000 detention beds agreed upon.
RJ Howman from the National Immigration Center (NICE) told Breitbart News that Biden and Mayorkas agreed to the Lankford Bill’s 50,000 detention beds because its provisions were “codified at crisis level.” “In exchange for providing millions of beds to non-governmental organizations and government agencies.” Sanctuary jurisdiction. ”
Howman called the Lankford bill “an attempt at mass immigration extortion” and said the Biden administration’s aim to drastically reduce the number of detention beds as part of its latest funding request shows that “the uproar in the Senate is just a political farce.” “This proves that it was nothing more than a play.”
House Homeland Security Committee issued A report late last year documenting the Biden administration’s reduction in detention beds:
in fact, Despite record numbers of illegal aliens entering the country each month, ICE is underutilizing many detention facilities. for example, The Adelanto ICE facility in Southern California, which could house nearly 2,000 illegal aliens by December 2023, currently houses just six. That’s because the Biden administration has refused to aggressively challenge a court order that barred new admissions to facilities in 2020, citing COVID-19 spacing and distancing requirements. Because it is. [Emphasis added]
…
Overall, using 25,000 ICE beds 365 days a year at a cap of $142.44 per day would result in a total cost of approximately $1.3 billion, or $1.43 billion at $157.20 per day. Whether or not these beds are fully occupied, their cost is still paid for by American taxpayers. But rather than use that capacity to detain and deport illegal aliens; Mr. Mayorkas suppressed domestic enforcement and implemented a “catch-and-release” policy. It has released hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants into the interior. The group chased away illegal immigrants and then moved around the country, especially in large cities, where they were forced to pay to house them. This results in state and local governments being forced to unnecessarily incur additional costs to house illegal aliens. In many cases, they are seeking reimbursement from the federal government for those costs on top of what DHS has already paid for thousands of ICE beds. [Emphasis added]
U.S. Border Patrol agents prepare to remove migrants for asylum application processing at the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo, California, U.S., Friday, April 5, 2024. (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Similar to ICE detention beds, the number of immigrants enrolled in ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program has also not increased compared to record numbers of border crossings and mass releases under the Biden administration.
For example, data shows that in March 2021, approximately 2.7 percent Of the 3.3 million immigrants listed on ICE’s non-detention records (residing in the United States while awaiting immigration proceedings), they are enrolled in the ATD program to ensure they receive appropriate supervision.
Biden expanded ICE non-detention records to more than 6.2 million immigrants by March 2024. Despite nearly doubling the recorded non-custodial population, less than 3% are enrolled in ATD programs, where they are monitored upon release into the interior of the United States.
While the Biden administration is still using the ATD program, it is leaning more toward providing services such as mental health assessments and cultural orientation through the Case Management Pilot Program (CMPP) and Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP). has contributed to.
CMPP and YACMP are helping to divert billions of American taxpayer dollars from the Intensive Surveillance Appearance Program (ISAP), which tracks immigrants through GPS surveillance, to providing services to immigrants.
Although that plan never materialized, the Biden administration had hoped to eventually funnel billions of dollars into the Release and Report Management (RRM) program. The program is designed to force released immigrants to “check in” annually, rather than being monitored through ISAP.
U.S. Border Patrol agents prepare to remove migrants for asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo, California, Friday, April 5, 2024. (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
At a House hearing this week, Rep. Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) and Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) argued that Mayorkas is trying to reduce detention bed space amid a sky-high surge in illegal immigration. I asked about Mr. 189,000 Migrants have arrived at the southern border.
“This request asks for sufficient resources to remove the more than 1.3 million aliens on the non-custodial docket who have already been sentenced and no longer have a legal basis to remain in this country. ” Joyce asked Mayorkas.
Does it require an appropriate level of detention beds to detain foreign nationals who pose a national security or public safety risk?do not haveInstead, his administration is requesting 7,500 fewer beds than Congress just funded. It will be included in the 2024 budget. [Emphasis added]
In an exchange with guests, Mayorkas said DHS is “committed to working with Congress to preserve the 41,500 beds that Congress funded” in the spending package passed last month. .
Guests questioned why Mr. Mayorkas publicly called for a reduction of 34,000 detention beds when officials wanted more bed space.
“If that’s a number, why wasn’t it included in the budget?” the guest asked Mayorkas. “…If those are the numbers we need…I ask you to actually put those numbers into the budget. We don’t just expect them to add up.”
Migrants wait to be removed for processing of their asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo, California, on Friday, April 5, 2024. (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In his testimony, Britt pointed out that a widespread number of criminal immigrants are continually being released from ICE custody, rather than remaining in custody.
“There are 4,700 people convicted of assault, and 450 of them have been released,” Britt detailed to Mayorkas.
There are 5,200 people convicted of drug crimes, of whom 261 have been released. There are 1,100 people convicted of weapons offenses, of whom 92 have been released. There are 1,200 people convicted of sexual assault, of whom 46 have been released. and, 490 people were convicted of murder, 50 of whom were released.
[Emphasis added]
“More detention beds will lead to more deportations, which in turn will lead to secure borders and a safer American community,” Howman told Breitbart News. “What will it take for the Biden administration and the Democratic Party to finally recognize this? Another college student murder? A terrorist attack? This is the sad and dangerous reality we find ourselves in.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
