Cities along southern border could feel impact of Senate failing to pass border bill

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is considering releasing thousands of immigrants in detention to cover a budget shortfall, according to a report by the Washington Post.

This comes following the failure of the Senate border bill last week.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that without adequate funding, cities along the border, such as San Diego, would suffer.

But Pedro Rios, an immigrant rights advocate, disagrees.

"I think it's a good thing. I think people should not be detained on civil violations," Rios said.

Rios is the director of the American Friends Service Committee U.S.-Mexico Border program.

The website TRAC by Syracuse University shows ICE has held more than 38,000 people in detention as of January 28.

"Some of them are because they have tried multiple times to cross, and so, as a result, they have been sanctioned with a criminal violation," Rios said.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said immigration reform is needed to help with the surge of migrants at the southern border.

But last week, the Senate failed to pass a bill that would have given $6 billion to ICE and would have addressed a $700 million budget deficit, the Washington Post reported.

It said ICE is considering cutting costs by decreasing detention levels from 38,000 beds to 22,000.

In a statement to ABC 10News, DHS would not confirm plans to release detainees.

It said, "The Administration has repeatedly requested additional resources for DHS's vital missions on the southwest border, and Congress has chronically underfunded them. Most recently, Congress rejected the bipartisan national security bill out of hand, which will put at risk DHS's current removal operations, put further strain on our already overtaxed workforce, and make it harder to catch fentanyl at ports of entry."

But Rios said the department does not need more funding.

"This idea that they need more money to enforce immigration laws is wild. It's not accurate and doesn't represent what communities along the border would want to see," he said.

Rios said if detainees were to be released, the county should not be concerned about dozens of migrants being on the streets.

He said many of the immigrants being held in detention have places to go.

"Because they have been in the country for some time, those connections have already been made. It's not someone who just arrived and might not know where to go or where the family is," Rios said.

DHS's full statement:

"The Administration has repeatedly requested additional resources for DHS's vital missions on the southwest border and Congress has chronically underfunded them. Most recently, Congress rejected the bipartisan national security bill out of hand, which will put at risk DHS's current removal operations, put further strain on our already overtaxed workforce, and make it harder to catch fentanyl at ports of entry. Without adequate funding for CBP, ICE, and USCIS, the Department will have to reprogram or pull resources from other efforts."

The failure to provide funding to DHS would have widespread impacts, including:

1. CBP would need to repurpose funds, while drawing back operations in nonessential areas. That includes sacrificing capital investments in priority projects to enhance border security such as modernizing ports of entry and adding new border surveillance technology. 
2. Cities and communities along the border and in the interior of the United States where migrants are awaiting their immigration court proceedings would suffer. The Shelter and Services Program has not been able to provide additional financial support to critical state and local partners and non-profit organizations since late FY23.  
3. ICE would not be able to sustain its current operational tempo with regard to border and removal operations in order to address a multimillion-dollar shortfall in FY24 if additional funding is not secured. That means losing ground from ICE ERO's 142,580 removals and 62,545 Title 42 expulsions to more than 170 countries worldwide in Fiscal Year 2023 --- increased capacity and agreements to conduct removals and returns ICE has built up, particularly after the lifting of the Title 42 public health emergency on May 12. 
4. A reduction in ICE operations would significantly harm border security, national security, and public safety. 
5. USCIS would have to reduce its capacity to adjudicate green card applications and other important fee-paying workloads, extending processing times, so that they can shift hundreds of personnel from other parts of USCIS to do protection screening. 
6. There would be an increase in the affirmative asylum backlog due to USCIS continuing to devote asylum staff to manage SWB work. The backlog currently stands at over 1 million cases and is growing by the tens of thousands of each month; that translates to years that would-be asylees remain in the United States waiting for their cases to be heard.