Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) have proposed a new bill that would compel President Joe Biden to utilize all available detention space for migrants arriving at the United States-Mexico border and simplify the process of deporting illegal immigrants.
The “Reshape Alternatives to Detention (ATD) Act” aims to prevent Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from repurposing the enforcement program, originally designed to monitor migrants in the U.S. during immigration court proceedings, into a taxpayer-funded social services program. The legislation would require DHS to maximize detention space for migrants at the southern border and implement GPS monitoring for migrants enrolled in the ATD program to ensure they are monitored throughout their immigration court proceedings.
Senator Hagerty emphasized the necessity of combatting the surge of illegal immigration across the southern border and criticized the Biden administration for neglecting to enforce existing laws and allowing illegal immigrants to roam freely in the U.S. The bill also seeks to terminate the Case Management Pilot Program (CMPP) and the Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP) to redirect funding towards increasing detention space for arriving migrants.
The National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) has expressed support for the Reshape ATD Act, highlighting the importance of utilizing detention beds before resorting to ATD and ensuring all illegal aliens on the non-detained docket are enrolled in the program with GPS monitoring.
This legislation has garnered support from several lawmakers, including Reps. Barry Moore (R-AL), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), JD Vance (R-OH), among others. The bill aligns with former President Donald Trump’s promise to execute the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history, a policy favored by a majority of Americans.
Under the Biden administration, DHS has been deporting only one illegal alien for approximately every 70 migrants arriving at the border, leading to a high likelihood of migrant releases into the U.S. interior.
