DHS to end

Published 6 February 2006

Illegal immigrants, if caught, would be released and given a note to show up in court for hearing, but few bothered; DHS will soon end the practice

DHS by October 2006 will end the practice of releasing illegal immigrants into the United States (also known as “catch and release”). One reason for the practice has been the lack of detention bed space, forcing DHS to release non-Mexican illegal immigrants if they did not have felony convictions and did not pose a threat to national security. The released illegal immigrants are given notice to appear in court for a hearing, but most do not bother.

The fiscal 2006 DHS appropriations bill included $940 million to hire 1,000 more Border Patrol agents and an additional 250 Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators, and to pay for 1,920 new beds at detention facilities and eight fugitive operations teams. The department will issue a solicitation for the secure border initiative in late March or early April and select a prime contractor by the end of September. DHS said the Secure Border Initiative will be a priority in the fiscal 2007 budget.

-read more in this report