EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has discontinued a COVID-era initiative that provided illegal immigrants with hundreds of complimentary minutes for video calls, according to Fox News Digital. This decision is projected to save taxpayers more than $10 million annually.
Beginning in May 2020, the federal agency offered illegal immigrants in detention 520 minutes of free domestic and international phone and video calls each month due to the newly emerging COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting visitation restrictions. The annual cost for this program was approximately $10.2 million.
The public health emergency related to the pandemic concluded in May 2023; however, the program continued even as in-person visits resumed following the removal of social distancing measures.
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June 2, 2022: ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior. ((Immigration and Customs Enforcement))
According to ICE, although the program continued into June of this year, cost-saving measures have now become essential due to the need for other resources at the southern border.
“Individuals in detention still have access to facility Wi-Fi to make phone and video calls to their families and attorneys and can make calls at their own cost using facility telephones and video tablets if available,” an ICE representative stated.
The agency also indicated that should it receive adequate resources from Congress, it might revisit the possibility of providing free calls in the future.
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ICE has maintained this policy since May 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Getty Images)
“While ICE appreciates the fiscal year 2024 appropriations it received from Congress, current funding falls short of sustaining operational effectiveness across multiple areas while still offering free calls, which cost taxpayers over $0.50 per minute,” the agency commented.
Funding remains a central issue of contention among lawmakers regarding how to manage the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
Democrats and the Biden administration have criticized Republicans for not supporting attempts to secure additional funding for necessary resources to address the border situation—including a bipartisan bill introduced this year that has yet to progress in the Senate.
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Republicans point out that they have passed their own comprehensive border proposal in the House, which includes extra funding and stringent restrictions on asylum and parole but has not garnered Democratic backing.
Meanwhile, some restrictions from the COVID era are still in effect. The Biden administration has recently pushed for a federal judge to lift a prohibition on new detainees at a facility in Adelanto, California.
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The Adelanto, California facility has the capacity to house close to 2,000 individuals but has been restricted by a September 2020 court ruling that stemmed from a lawsuit by immigrant activists advocating for a reduction in inmate numbers due to the pandemic. The facility has held only a few inmates since then.
