ICE to release thousands of illegal immigrants, cut detention center beds due to unprecedented border surge

US Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) has drafted contingency plans to release thousands of illegal immigrants after Congress failed to reach an agreement on the national security supplementary bill.

ICE said the department will be forced to cut detention capacity due to the historically underfunded department's $700 million budget deficit.

The supplementary bill would have given ICE $7.6 billion, but Congressional Republicans declared the deal "dead on arrival" due to the bill's lack of security for the US-Southern border. The bill contained more money for foreign wars than for border security, with $95 billion to secure the borders of Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Detention facilities and deportations are the highest operating costs for ICE, which is the immigration arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

Information on the matter was first presented to the Washington Post by four officials with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.
 

"The Administration has repeatedly requested additional resources for DHS’s vital missions on the southwest border and Congress has chronically underfunded them,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said.

The spokesperson explained that ICE will not be able to sustain its current operational tempo and added, "Without adequate funding for CBP, ICE, and USCIS, the Department will have to reprogram or pull resources from other efforts."

ICE said they are looking to cut 38,000 detention center beds to 22,000 to free up costs, according to the outlet.

The Department has been spread thin and often assists US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in efforts to secure the US-Southern border amid the historic illegal immigration crisis. Since President Biden took office in 2021, more than 6 million illegal immigrants have invaded the United States.

Video footage taken over the past few years in ICE facilities shows the detention holding areas at max capacity.

House Republicans voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday over his role in the crisis at the US-Southern border. Biden's most frequent worst-rated issue among voters in polls is his record on immigration.