U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is considering releasing thousands of immigrants and reducing detention capacity due to a $700 million budget shortfall following the failure of a Senate border bill.
The bill’s demise has led to internal proposals to save money, causing concern for the Biden administration as illegal border crossings are expected to increase.
The proposed bill included increased funding for ICE, which was a significant concession by Democrats to Republicans.
Erin Heeter, a DHS spokesperson, wrote in a statement, “Most recently, Congress rejected the bipartisan national security bill out of hand, which will put at risk DHS’s current removal operations.”
“A reduction in ICE operations would significantly harm border security, national security, and public safety,” she continued.
Silky Shah, the executive director of Detention Watch Network, said, “While we feel some relief that the Senate did not include the harmful and permanent immigration policy changes it was considering and that ICE is not getting a more than $7 billion infusion above their already astronomical budget, we continue to demand actual cuts [to the ICE budget] that shrink the detention system.”
“We find it problematic that the framing is that ICE is facing cuts, when in fact, ICE’s budget has continued to grow astronomically year after year,” Shah continued.
John Sandweg, who was acting director of ICE under President Barack Obama, said, “There are far more demands on ICE right now than the resources available to meet them.”
“ICE is funded at levels so far below what the Republicans want,” he explained.
“You can’t have your cake and eat it too,” concluded Sandweg.
The failure of the bill has resulted in a reversal of traditional partisan politics on immigration, with Democrats supporting new border restrictions and funding for enforcement, while Republicans opposed the bill.
This has led to a contentious debate about ICE’s budget and its impact on immigration policies.
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