Join WhatsApp Channel
Join Telegram ChannelEXCLUSIVE: The number of non-detained U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cases soared to more than 7 million cases in fiscal year 2024.
Internal federal data obtained by Fox News shows ICE's non-detainee caseload has reached 7.4 million cases and is on track to reach 8 million by the end of the fiscal year, several confirmed federal sources at Fox News.
The non-detainee docket, which the agency's website says is part of its Alternatives to Detention program, has provided case management support to released migrants that ICE says has helped “help non-citizens meet release conditions” and “increase court appearance rates.”
NYC MIGRANT SQUATTERS FOUND WITH DRUGS AND WEAPONS WERE PREVIOUSLY CAPTURED AT SOUTHERN BORDER AND RELEASED: ICE
This split shows President Biden and migrants at the southern border. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta and Fox News)
However, the influx of migrants on the docket has exacerbated staffing problems at the agency, which has only about 6,000 deportation officers across the country, not all of whom work on the docket. non-detainees. As a result, each ICE agent working the case is responsible for handling an average of 7,000 cases.
Navigating your way through the mountain of cases is essentially impossible with current levels of manpower and resources, federal sources told Fox News, with the accelerated pace of border crossings straining border workers. the ICE.
President Biden speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, January 8, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
BILL MAHER SOUNDS ALARM ON IMMIGRATION CHAOS: THIS WILL MAKE DEMS 'F—ED ON ELECTION DAY'
The non-detained docket has added more than 1 million cases since October 1 and has more than doubled since President Biden took office in 2021, when the docket had just under 3.7 million case.
The number of people not detained also does not include the nearly 1.9 million recorded escapees who have entered the country since Biden took office, federal sources said, noting that these migrants do not have had no contact with the Department of Homeland Security.
However, these 1.9 million are also the responsibility of ICE agents, who are responsible for finding and removing these migrants, in addition to managing the case of non-detainees.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The White House and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Bill Melugin of Fox News contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from Fox News' Digital Immigration Center.