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U.S. Provides Cell Phones to Track Unlawful Migrants

Jen Psaki
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki | Image by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

On Wednesday, April 6, the White House confirmed that smartphones are being provided to unlawful migrants as part of the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program.

The ATD initiative uses three different forms of technology, including cellphones, to monitor unlawful migrants who have been released into the U.S. and are awaiting a court date.

In a press briefing, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, explained, “We need to take steps to ensure that we know where individuals are, track, and check in with them.”

A biometric voiceprint of the participant’s voice is created during the enrollment process; the voiceprint is compared to the caller’s voice whenever the participant makes a required check-in call.

Another option is Smartlink, which uses facial matching technology to establish identity and monitor the participant using a smartphone or tablet. Each week the cell phone or tablet sends an alert to the unlawful migrant, who must then take an “immigration selfie” that tags the participant’s location.

The government also uses ankle bracelets and GPS to monitor and track unlawful migrants.

Psaki was asked at the press briefing whether the Biden administration had any concerns about unlawful migrants taking the phones and throwing them away.

She replied the administration had only one concern: to ensure that all unlawful migrants who enter the country go through the proper monitoring process and attend the hearings required to determine whether they are allowed to remain in the country.

The White House press secretary claimed that the “vast, vast majority of people are appearing (in court), in part, [because] we have these monitoring systems to do that effectively.”

On the same day, Josh Hawley, the Republican Senator from Missouri, sent a letter to Alejandro Mayorkas at the Department of Homeland Security expressing concern regarding the handling of unlawful migration.

He asked, among other things, “Does DHS plan to provide illegal aliens with free phones? What is the justification for doing so? If cell phones are being provided to illegal aliens, what controls are in place to ensure taxpayer dollars do not go to waste?”

The ankle monitors currently used to track unlawful migrants cost $4.50 per day. Detaining someone in immigration detention costs the government more than $200 per day, according to The National Immigration Forum. The cost of providing them with smartphones has not yet been reported.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website states that in the fiscal year 2020, the ATD program saw a daily average of 90,000 participants at a cost of $149 million. In the fiscal year 2021, $440 million was earmarked for the program.

Hawley demanded answers to the questions posed in his letter by April 29 so that Congress could consider “remedial legislation.”

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