October 2022 — M2CC Newsletter
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WWW.<strong>M2CC</strong>.US Monthly <strong>Newsletter</strong> | 21<br />
understand how it's working," Lankford<br />
said, in an interview. "Basically they<br />
had a backlog at the border and they just<br />
moved it into the interior of the country."<br />
The lack of coordination between CBP<br />
and ICE during the initial phases of<br />
the Notice to Report process in 2021<br />
generated "significant challenges," the<br />
GAO found, as hundreds of migrants<br />
began showing up daily on a walk-in basis<br />
at ICE field offices. ICE administrative<br />
staff couldn't handle the workload, and<br />
crowds of parents with children were left<br />
waiting in long lines in the streets outside<br />
agency offices, including one with "a<br />
waiting room that can accommodate only<br />
six people."<br />
The Department of Homeland Security<br />
did not immediately respond to a request<br />
for comment on the GAO report.<br />
U.S. Customs and Border Protection<br />
responded to criticism of the Notice to<br />
Report process by significantly improving<br />
the accuracy of the address collection<br />
process after June 2021, the GAO said.<br />
CBP phased out that process in favor of a<br />
different procedure known as Parole with<br />
Alternatives to Detention that allowed<br />
the government to keep better track<br />
of released migrants using electronic<br />
monitoring apps and other technology.<br />
Migrants released from custody after<br />
entering the United States illegally are<br />
typically issued a charging document<br />
known as a "Notice to Appear," which<br />
initiates the deportation process.<br />
Completing the paperwork for those forms<br />
typically takes border agents 2 to 2.5<br />
hours, but the new fast-track procedures<br />
launched under Biden only take about 30<br />
minutes, the GAO found.<br />
Families have generally complied with<br />
the government's instructions, according<br />
to GAO. About three-quarters of the<br />
roughly 180,000 migrant family members<br />
released into the United States under<br />
the new programs between March 2021<br />
and February <strong>2022</strong> have reported to ICE<br />
offices. In about half of those cases, ICE<br />
has initiated deportation proceedings,<br />
which generally allows families to remain<br />
in the United States while seeking asylum<br />
or some other legal residency status<br />
through immigration courts, the report<br />
said.<br />
To track down the roughly 45,000 migrant<br />
family members who failed to show up<br />
at ICE offices as directed, the agency<br />
has sent notices via mail and attempted<br />
to contact individuals by phone, the<br />
report said. Migrants who do not respond<br />
are referred to ICE fugitive operations<br />
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for possible arrests. ICE officials told<br />
the GAO they are concerned about<br />
their growing workload because CBP<br />
has released about 100,000 additional<br />
migrants using Parole with Alternatives<br />
to Detention since the spring.<br />
Migrants who arrive as part of a family<br />
group and state a fear of persecution<br />
if returned to their home countries<br />
are generally released into the United<br />
States and allowed to seek humanitarian<br />
protections under U.S. law. The backlog<br />
of unresolved asylum claims has<br />
ballooned in recent years, and the cases<br />
often take years to resolve, creating<br />
what is widely acknowledged to be an<br />
incentive for migrants who may not have<br />
valid claims to avoid a quick deportation<br />
and detention.