Wall Street Journal
By Miriam Jordan
September 26, 2014
Thousands
of families apprehended for entering the country illegally and then
released by U.S. authorities have subsequently failed to report to
immigration offices as
required.
According
to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, about 70% of migrant families
encountered at the border since May and released haven't reported to an
office of the agency
as instructed. Between May and August, agents apprehended about 40,000
people entering the U.S. in family units, amid a surge in illegal
immigration from Central America.
Because
of a shortage of detention space, most migrant families caught at the
border have been allowed to join relatives in the U.S. as they await
deportation proceedings.
Separately, the individuals are instructed to report to an ICE office
within a few weeks of reaching their destination.
The
no-show figure for ICE supervision doesn't mean individuals have
absconded or failed to appear in immigration court. "Individuals who
don't report to ICE as requested
may still be attending their immigration court hearings," said an ICE
spokesperson.
Depending
on whether ICE deems an individual a flight risk, migrants who visit an
ICE office may be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet, which
monitors their movement,
or simply told to check in again in a few weeks. The goal is to ensure
that an individual facing removal from the country stays in touch with
U.S. authorities and reports to court. The ICE monitoring, or check-in,
is an alternative to detention, which is limited
and costs about $260 per family member per day.
Immigrant advocates said they were seeking clarification from immigration authorities.
"This
data contradicts everything we have known about people complying with
orders to report," said Royce Bernstein Murray, the director of policy
at the Chicago-based
National Immigrant Justice Center. "We need to understand this data in
detail to find out where gaps can be addressed."
Human-rights
groups and immigrant organizations have criticized the Obama
administration for opening detention centers and filling them with
mothers and children, migrants
they believe are likely to win asylum, which will permit them to remain
in the U.S. Many of the Central American migrants say they are fleeing
gang violence and extortion.
In
June, the administration opened a temporary detention facility in
Artesia, N.M., that can hold about 650 women and children. A second
facility in Karnes, Texas, was
opened to house 530 people. A third such detention center with a
capacity for 480 people is due to open in Dilley, Texas, by the end of
2014.
Before
the new facility opened in Artesia, the government had the capacity for
fewer than 100 individuals at a family detention center in
Pennsylvania.
The
flood of adults with children coming to the U.S. has subsided, from a
peak of 16,329 in June to 3,296 in August. The Executive Office of
Immigration Review, which
oversees immigration courts, said in a statement that it continues to
schedule and hear these deportation cases on an expedited basis,
following the Obama administration's decision to make them a priority.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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