Tracking Device Tested for Migrants Facing Deportation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is set to test a new tracking device that would be worn by migrants who are released from federal custody while awaiting deportation proceedings, CBS News reported.

Fifty adult migrants in the Denver area who are facing deportation will wear the devices as part of a pilot for multiple weeks, an ICE official, who requested anonymity, told reporters during a demonstration of the technology on Monday.

The device would be mounted on a wrist and would use GPS technology to track migrants who are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, which supervises migrants who officials have determined do not present a threat to national security or public safety.

President Joe Biden’s administration has argued that the program, which in the past used methods such as ankle monitors and a mobile app for tracking, is cheaper and more humane than detention for ensuring that migrants cooperate with immigration proceedings.

About 250,000 migrants were monitored in the program as of earlier this month, according to data provided by the agency, with about 25,000 additional migrants detained in various fails and prisons that are part of the ICE network.