ICE is considering a mass release of immigrants after the bill failed in the Senate, according to a report

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has drawn up plans to release thousands of immigrants and dramatically reduce its ability to hold detainees following the failure of a border security bill in the Senate, according to immigration officials. The Washington Post.

The bipartisan bill, built over opposition from Republican senators, would have eliminated a $700 million budget shortfall for the agency by providing an additional $6 billion to improve its operations.

The program's demise led ICE officials to distribute an internal plan to save money by freeing thousands of detainees and reducing the size of the detention facility from 38,000 beds to 22,000.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential campaign, boasted that he had influenced conservative lawmakers to block the border bill.

With ICE's budget shortfall at $700 million — the largest the agency has faced in recent memory — and a proposal to mass release immigrants the agency is considering, illegal crossings in general seem complicated for the Biden administration heading into the spring. officer

To cover the shortfall, the Department of Homeland Security could reprogram budget items for the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration and other agencies, but that could be a complicated and highly scrutinized move, the report said. Mail.

Officials consulted for the report said much of the savings could come from mass releases of prisoners.

DHS spokeswoman Erin Heiter, quoted in the report, complained that Congress had “chronically underfunded” the agency's money for the department's “core missions along the Southwest border.”

Rejecting the bipartisan bill in the Senate would “jeopardize current DHS removal efforts,” he said.

“Cutting ICE operations would significantly harm border security, national security and public safety,” Heiter added.

Despite Republican complaints about border conditions, increased enforcement has led to a seasonal decline in illegal entries, according to Troy Miller, the agency's acting commissioner.

Border Patrol apprehensions totaled 124,220 in January, down 50% from 249,735 in December.