Report: Department of Homeland Security can’t validate addresses, loses track of migrants

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SAN ANTONIO, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: A group of Venezuelan migrants sit at a bus stop across from the Migrant Resource Center after their three day stay at the shelter expired on September 19, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. The City of San Antonio Migrant Resource Center is the origin place of two planeloads of mostly Venezuelan migrants who were sent via Florida to Marthas Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron Desantis. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)

A new report is shedding light on the difficulty the federal government has in keeping track of migrants who are apprehended after they enter the United States. Federal watchdog group the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General, released the report which explains the lack of ability to maintain valid addresses for migrants, therefore having no follow ups and losing track of individuals.

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“[Immigration and Customs Encorcement] must be able to locate migrants to enforce immigration laws, including to arrest or remove individuals who are considered potential threats to national security,” the report said. “The notable percentage of missing, invalid for delivery, or duplicate addresses on file means DHS may not be able to locate migrants follReportowing their release into the United States. As the Department continues to apprehend and release tens of thousands of migrants each month, valid post-release addresses are essential.”

The Center Square reports:

According to the report, DHS released more than 1 million migrants into the U.S. from March 2021 to August 2022. The IG tracked DHS’ work in obtaining addresses and keeping up with these migrants, many of whom were apprehended as they illegally entered the country.

“Based on our review of 981,671 migrant records documented by USBP from March 2021 through August 2022, addresses for more than 177,000 migrant records were either missing, invalid for delivery, or not legitimate residential locations,” the report said.

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Furthermore, DHS was unable to validate the addresses they did have. “In addition to migrants not providing U.S. release addresses, DHS faced several challenges hindering its ability to record and validate migrant addresses as required,” the report said. “USBP did not accurately and effectively capture valid addresses, in part due to the large number of migrants apprehended, as well as its limited coordination with ICE and its limited authority to administer compliance with address requirements. ICE also did not have adequate resources to validate and analyze migrants’ post-release addresses.”

 

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