ICE Reportedly Set To Put Ankle Monitors To Tens Of Thousands Of Migrants 'Whenever Possible'

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has directed agents to put ankle monitors to as many migrants enrolled in its Alternatives to Detention program as possible, potentially shackling up tens of thousands of people, according to a new report.

The Washington Post noted that an agency memo from June urged agents to put ankle monitors on migrants "whenever possible." It added that there are about 183,000 adults enrolled in the program who at some point consented to some form of tracking or mandatory check-ins while waiting for their cases to be solved. Now there are some 24,000 people who are wearing ankle monitors.

"If the alien is not being arrested at the time of reporting, escalate their supervision level to GPS ankle monitors whenever possible and increase reporting requirements," reads a passage of the memo from Dawnisha Helland, acting assistant director in the management of non-detained immigrants.

Consulted by the outlet, ICE spokeswoman Emily Covington didn't comment on the memo but said the Trump administration is using ankle monitors as an "enforcement tool" and "more accountability shouldn't come as a surprise." She added that the agency makes decisions on a case-by-case basis and officers get to decide who requires tracking technology.

The push could make it easier to track migrants as the administration continues seeking to ramp up deportations. CBS News reported on Wednesday that ICE recorded almost 150,000 deportations in the first six months of the administration, or about some 800 per day. Should the pace continue, removals would be the highest since fiscal year 2014, when the Obama administration recorded 316,000 deportations. The highest took place in fiscal year 2012, when 410,000 people were removed.

However, Trump administration officials set a goal of 1 million deportations, meaning the current pace is still far from what they intend. ICE is significantly expanding efforts to that end, especially after getting an additional $45 billion from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as $30 billion to fund every stage of the deportation process. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said last week that the agency plans to use some of that money to hire 10,000 agents to locate and arrest migrants suspected of being in the country unlawfully.