H1B Visa Lawyer Blog
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have released several hundred detained illegal immigrants from detention centers across the country. The reason given for this large number of early releases was the forced budget cuts caused by the federal budget sequestration, which is set to start March 1st. The exact number of those released has not been published but it is estimated to be around 300. According to the National Immigration Forum, the current cost to detain an undocumented immigrant is approximately $164 per day.
These individuals are being released but the charges against them will not be dropped. ICE has stated that the people released did not commit serious crimes, mostly misdemeanor traffic offenses. ICE will still track these people but with cheaper methods.
Republicans are concerned about the release of criminals and the Democrats are questioning why these people were detained in the first place for such minimal offenses.
MVP Law Group recognizes there will be other sequestration budget cuts which will affect the immigration process and our clients. We will be following this subject closely and we will report it to you, our blog readers.
View the links below for more detail on the subject:
AP.org (2/26/13):
DHS releasing illegal immigrants before sequester
Opposingviews.com (2/26/13):
What Impact Will Sequestration Have on Immigration
Immigrationforum.org (pdf):
The Math of Immigration Detention