Beleaguered by an\n\u201cunprecedented challenge\u201d from the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Immigration and\nCustoms Enforcement (ICE) detained and deported far fewer illegal aliens in\n2020. With Congress now applying budget cuts, don\u2019t expect the numbers to\nimprove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a year-end report<\/a>, ICE said the average daily population (ADP) at its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention facilities dropped to 33,724, down 33 percent from 2019. While some of the decline was due to a decrease in arrivals at the southern border, much was attributed COVID safety protocols and related court-ordered releases<\/a>. In any event, the declining ADP does not<\/em> reflect an increase in deportations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the bright side, ICE said the number of aliens on its \u201cnon-detained docket\u201d remained steady\nat 3.26 million. But that\u2019s not much of an\nachievement. A majority of these individuals targeted for deportation had\ncriminal records, yet ICE acknowledged that only a tiny fraction were actually\nin custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agency stated that it \u201cmaintained its commitment to removing those aliens posing the greatest risk to the safety and security of the United States.\u201d But ERO removals of convicted criminal aliens fell from 150,141 in 2019 to 103,762 in 2020 \u2013 a 30 percent decrease<\/a>. It was the second straight annual decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the numbers have\ntumbled, ICE called the decreases \u201cthe result of temporary conditions during a\nglobal pandemic\u201d and suggested that things \u201cmay shift rapidly once conditions\nresolve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact,\nthey may continue heading in the wrong direction as incoming President Joe Biden expresses little interest\nin detaining or deporting illegal aliens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making it harder for ICE to do its job, Congress voted last month to reduce<\/a> the agency\u2019s budget by $107 million ($1.96 billion less than the Trump administration requested). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Detention beds for the new fiscal year were cut from 45,274 to 34,000. The appropriation does not mandate a floor for detention beds, meaning that ICE is not required to detain a minimum number of people.\u00a0 Congress isn\u2019t abolishing ICE, but the squeeze is on. With less room at the ICE inn, more criminal aliens will go free. And, as recent releases from the Adelanto, Calif., detention facility<\/a> have shown, public safety suffers when that happens. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beleaguered by an \u201cunprecedented challenge\u201d from the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained and deported far fewer illegal aliens in 2020. With Congress now applying budget cuts, don\u2019t expect the numbers to improve. In a year-end report, ICE said the average daily population (ADP) at its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detention<\/p>\n
Lawmakers also blocked use of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fees for ICE investigations, and rejected requests for more deportation officers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n