U.S. Immigration Surveillance Program Called ‘Punitive and Ineffective’

In a letter to the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, a group of 25 Democratic lawmakers led by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib are demanding urgent changes to the privately run intensive supervision appearance program (ISAP), an effort introduced in 2004 as a “humane alternative” to immigration detention but that that they say, instead, is punitive, often subjecting immigrants to years of surveillance, and has failed to accomplish its stated purpose of reducing the number of immigrants in detention, reports The Guardian.

“Between 2006 to 2021, ISAP’s budget increased from $28m to $475m, while the detention budget increased from $1bn to $2.8bn,” the letter reads. Immigration authorities “cannot reasonably call ISAP an ‘alternative to detention’ if the program effectively subjects more immigrants to the agency’s supervision while it simultaneously expands formal detention programs.” About 182,000 immigrants are enrolled in the program today,  making it the largest supervision program of any US law enforcement agency. The group charges that the program has led to “extreme physical and mental damage” for immigrants enrolled and has made it difficult for participants to integrate in American society. Without federal laws regulating the use of consumer information, that personal data could be used in other law enforcement contexts or sold to the highest bidder, critics charge.