US Migrant Data: 5.7 Million Migrants Being Monitored by ICE Amid Joe Biden's Plan for More Benefits

By BERT HOOVER Oct 12 2023, 23:21 PM EDT

Recent US migrant data from Immigration Customs Enforcement have shed light on a taxpayer-funded program called Release and Reporting Management that is designed to provide services for non-detained migrants in the country, The Blaze noted.

As per ICE's US migrant data, there are approximately 5.7 million non-detained migrants currently residing in the United States.

The RRM program aims to offer essential services, including medical care, food, clothing, housing, and various other benefits, to a substantial portion of the 5.7 million individuals on the non-detained docket.

This program's implementation comes as ICE is tasked with monitoring nearly 6 million migrants across the country, a significant increase compared to the 2.4 million migrants under its purview before President Joe Biden's administration.

It is important to note that ICE's estimate does not encompass migrants who are currently detained for processing at the border or those awaiting deportation.

The program includes a range of "community services" that cover legal assistance, psychosocial services, therapeutic services, medical care, food and clothing banks, housing, public transportation information, parental information, education information, and repatriation and reintegration services.

These services are tailored to individual participants' needs, ranging from basic referrals to intensive direct assistance.

To implement the RRM program effectively, ICE is looking to partner with private companies offering robust monitoring technology, including features such as check-in phone calls with biometric voiceprint, smartphone biometric facial comparison, geolocation information, and the use of ankle monitors.

Former ICE Director Tom Homan expressed concerns about the program, suggesting that it would likely cost taxpayers billions to provide migrants with "welfare" benefits.

He characterized it as a push by open-border advocates to offer welfare benefits to millions of people, including legal assistance for illegal aliens at the taxpayer's expense.

President Biden's Expansion of Migrants' Health Care Access

President Joe Biden announced a significant policy change that allows hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US illegally as children to apply for Medicaid and access the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges in April.

This change enables participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to access government-funded health insurance programs, AP reports.

DACA, initiated during President Barack Obama's administration, aims to shield immigrants brought to the US illegally by their parents as children from deportation and grant them legal work status.

This policy change has faced resistance from conservative leaders in states that have been hesitant to expand Medicaid and have been critical of the Biden administration's handling of migrants entering the country illegally.

While the federal government provides funding and guidelines for Medicaid, the program is administered by individual states.

The Biden administration intends to expand healthcare access for DACA program participants by the end of the month, a move that comes as the DACA program faces legal challenges and the number of eligible individuals is diminishing.

ICE's Monitoring of US Migration

Migrants admitted to the United States to pursue asylum claims are typically required to check in with ICE regularly at a local office in their area of residence, according to the New York Post.

Some migrants wear ankle monitors, while others use a mobile app with facial recognition for check-ins.

Each case manager was responsible for an average of 125 people in the monitoring scheme in 2021, according to ICE's US migrant data.

ICE sent out a Request for Information form to US vendors in August to assess their interest in participating in the government-funded RRM program.

While the Joe Biden administration is in the planning phase, the full rollout of RRM is expected to take place in fiscal year 2024 with a "Request for Proposal" sent to vendors.

RRM is intended to replace its precursor, Alternatives to Detention, which was introduced in 2004. The new Biden initiative would require additional funding beyond the current allocation for ATD.

The ATD program has approximately 194,632 migrants tracked via GPS or other technology in fiscal year 2023, leaving millions of migrants untracked across the country.

The US Customs and Border Protection has encountered a record-breaking number of migrants during President Biden's tenure, with over 2.76 million encounters in fiscal year 2022.

Additionally, the government has admitted to losing track of 177,000 migrants after their release into the US, according to a Department of Homeland Security report.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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