ICE Halts Expensive Programs for Undocumented Immigrants Citing Budget Issues

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has terminated two programs that provide social services to illegal aliens. The agency cited unsustainable costs and a misalignment of the mission.

 

Wraparound Stabilization Service was one of the discontinued programs. It offered psychosocial and behavioral support to migrants. ICE stated that the program was ineffective, as it only showed a 2% increase in compliance compared to people who did not receive services. ICE described the program as “highly expensive and little-improved.” Referrals were stopped in July.

 

 

The second program was the Young Adult Case Management Program, which targeted migrants aged 18 and 19. It offered legal services as well as screenings for human trafficking. ICE chose not to renew the contract for the program, citing financial constraints and the failure of the program to align with its enforcement priorities.

 

“Immense Cost with Little Improvement”

 

The changes are being made in response to the overwhelming number of cases ICE is currently dealing with. Nearly 7.7 million people are on ICE’s “non-detained” docket. While 181,000 people are being monitored by the “Alternatives to Detention Program”, the agency’s limited budget (only 40,000 beds) has led to a closer look at its spending.

 

 

Lora Ries, a Heritage Foundation critic, welcomed the decision. She called such programs “a boondoggle”, and encouraged further cuts. Ries emphasized the need to redirect resources toward detention and removal efforts in order to fulfill ICE’s primary mission.

 

Conservatives have responded to information given to legislators by calling for the new administration of the United States to eliminate even more programs that provide services to illegal immigrants.

 

“ICE is a police agency, not a charitable organization.” “The billions of dollars DHS wasted on bringing millions of illegal immigrants into the country and providing them with excessive amenities should instead be directed to getting each illegal alien safely home,” Lora Ris, director of Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center told Fox News Digital.

 

 

Ries called these services “a boondoggle” adding that “there are other initiatives of a similar nature which must suffer the same fate as President Trump.”

 

“Instead of spending taxpayer dollars on a conflict with the mission of an agency, we should see massive increases in resources to detain and deport illegal aliens.” She said that if you don’t support an agency’s mission you shouldn’t receive a penny.

 

These terminations may be a sign of broader reforms to tighten border security and reduce costs associated with unauthorized migration.