exclusive: In fiscal year 2024, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer cases have surged to more than 7 million.
Multiple federal sources confirmed to Fox News that internal federal data obtained by Fox News shows that ICE detainer cases have reached 7.4 million and are expected to reach 8 million by the end of this fiscal year.
The agency’s website explains that non-detention cases are part of its Alternatives to Detention program, which provides case management support to released immigrants, which ICE says helps “support non-citizens’ compliance with release conditions” and “increase court appearance rates.”
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This division shows President Biden and immigrants at the southern border. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta and Fox News)
However, the surge in pending immigrants has exacerbated staffing problems at the agency, which has only about 6,000 deportation officers nationwide, not all of whom work on non-detention cases. Therefore, each ICE officer responsible for adjudicating cases is responsible for managing an average of 7,000 cases.
Federal sources told Fox News that solving the mountain of cases is essentially impossible at current levels of manpower and resources, putting a heavy strain on ICE employees as border crossings accelerate.
President Biden speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
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Non-custodial cases have increased by more than 1 million since Oct. 1, more than doubling since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, when the number of pending cases was just under 3.7 million.
The number not detained also does not include the nearly 1.9 million people who have fled the country since Biden took office, federal sources said, noting that the immigrants had no ties to the Department of Homeland Security.
Still, those 1.9 million people are also the responsibility of ICE officials, who, in addition to managing undetained cases, are responsible for tracking and deporting these immigrants.
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The White House and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Get the latest on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital Immigration Hub.
