Rep. McCaul wants specifics from ICE on detainee releases

Thu, 2013-02-28 08:18 AM
By: Mark Rockwell
Government Security News

The leader of the House Homeland Security Committee demanded specifics about Immigration and Customs Enforcement's release of hundreds of non-criminal detainees from its 250 detention facilities around the U.S. because of looming budget cuts.

In a Feb. 27 letter, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) told ICE Director John Morton that he was “concerned” by the agency’s action and demanded specifics on each detainee released.

The Associated Press also reported on Feb. 27 that the director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), was resigning his post. ICE told the Capitol Hill publication Politico on Feb. 27 that the AP report made it sound as if Mead “was taking the fall” for the release. An ICE spokeswoman said that wasn’t the case and that Mead had told ICE's senior leadership and his staff “several weeks” ago that he had planned to retire at the end of April, after 40 years of federal service and six year’s service at the agency.

The exact number of detainees released hasn’t been revealed. While ICE maintained that it was in the “hundreds,” some estimates in the media have speculated the real number is in the thousands.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at a Feb. 27 press briefing that "this was a decision made by career officials at ICE, without any input from the White House, as a result of fiscal uncertainty over the continuing resolution, as well as possible sequester." He stressed the detainees were “low-risk, non-criminal” and would still be monitored while they were free and still face deportation proceedings.

The deadline to stave off the looming $85 billion in forced budget cuts is March 1, although some of the cuts won’t take effect until April. The issue has become a political battle, with Democrats predicting dire consequences, including furloughs of airport security and border agents, while Republicans say the cuts won’t make as big of an impact on government operations.

In his letter to Morton, McCaul demanded to know how a variety of specifics on the releases, including the total number of individuals released; specific timelines and dates for future releases; a geographic breakdown of where detainees have been and will be released; the specific reason for each detainees’ initial detention; the amount of time each had been detained; and specific monitoring and tracking actions taken to maintain positive accountability of each person.

McCaul set a March 6 deadline for a response.

McCaul said Congress mandated and provided resources to maintain 34,000 bed spaces for illegal immigrant detainees, but, said McCaul, As of the week of Feb. 18, ICE reported 30,773 spaces filled -- which he said was a clear violation of statute.

Rep. McCaul wants specifics from ICE on detainee releases | Government Security News