exclusive: The Trump transition team is considering significantly expanding the use of ankle-worn GPS monitors to track undocumented immigrants who are not in federal immigration custody, Fox News Digital reported. .
President-elect Trump has promised to launch a large-scale deportation operation after he is sworn into office, and his transition team is already working on plans to make that happen.
Sources familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital that the incoming administration's priority is to detain and deport undocumented immigrants and prevent them from entering the United States in the first place.
But because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) capacity is currently tens of thousands of people compared to the millions not in custody, the agency will also increase surveillance of people who are not in custody until they are released. It is also expected that
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In this undated photo, ICE agents arrest an illegal immigrant. (Immigration/Immigration Residency Control and Customs Enforcement)
Under the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, newly arrived illegal immigrants undergoing court proceedings may be monitored with ankle- or wrist-worn devices or check-in with ICE using a mobile phone app. is required. As of November, ICE data showed only 187,747 people were being monitored using technology, including about 25,000 with ankle monitors or wrist-worn devices. Migrants are typically placed in ATD early in their infectious lifecycle after being released at the border.
The Trump administration is considering ways to increase the number of illegal immigrants monitored with ankle or wrist monitors while significantly reducing the number of people who are not detained. Officials also want to make GPS tracking available for longer periods of time than currently available. Officials say that if entry at the southern border were to be closed, as the administration plans to do, more people in the interior would be able to access the devices because they would no longer be needed for new people entering the border. He emphasized that people will be able to travel for long periods of time using this. us
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Migrants released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody wear ankle monitors while waiting to board a flight at Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV) in Shreveport, Louisiana, on August 14, 2024. . (Wayang Bale/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
ATD supporters and ICE They argue that compliance rates among registrants under supervision remain high and that it is cheaper than detention. That's $8 a day versus $150 a day. But some immigration activists have accused the ATD program of creating “digital prisons,” with some on the right calling for technology to be expanded to track and remove illegal immigrants once final orders are issued. claims. Of deportation.
Increased use of GPS monitoring may also result in additional penalties for non-compliance, although it is not yet clear what those penalties will be.
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Increasing the number of immigrants not in ATD custody is a priority for Republicans. of jocelyn law justiceThe bill, introduced this year by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Troy Neals (R-Texas), would require the government to keep all illegal immigrants on the non-custodial list. It requires people to register for GPS monitoring. Registrants will also be required to be home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and those who fail to comply with expulsion orders during their absence will be subject to penalties.
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Given the promise of a mass deportation campaign, the incoming administration is expected to significantly expand ICE's capabilities. GEO Group, the exclusive contractor for the technology, announced on Monday a $70 million investment to increase its ability to provide ICE with detention capacity, safe transportation, and electronic surveillance services.
