Customs, Border and Immigration News

DHS Has Lost Track of Nearly One-Third of Illegals Released Into US

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) failed to record the domestic addresses of nearly one-third of illegal migrants released into the country, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General report obtained by The Washington Free Beacon.

Between March and June 2021, when the migrants crossed, CBP encountered over 720,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the Beacon. Between March and September 2021, nearly 30% of those released “did not comply with release terms,” the outlet reported.

Border agents have adopted “ad hoc methods” for record-keeping, including dry erase boards to track unaccompanied minors, according to the Beacon.

“These deficiencies can delay DHS from uniting children with families and sponsors and cause migrants to remain in DHS custody beyond legal time limits,” the report stated. “DHS’s IT systems did not effectively allow CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to track migrants from apprehension to release or transfer.”

Jennie Taer//The Daily Caller News Foundation

“DHS should continue its efforts to improve IT capabilities to track migrants and share information. This is critical to ensure that DHS can process the high number of migrants apprehended illegally crossing the Southwest Border – which exceeded 1.6 million in FY 2021,” the report stated.

Neither DHS nor CBP responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org