US uses app to monitor 150,000 migrants

US uses app to monitor 150,000 migrants
  • Most of these migrants are part of the Alternative to Detention (ATD) program, according to an analysis by Syracuse University

Most immigrants monitored through the Alternative to Detention (ATD) program, implemented by immigration authorities to monitor foreigners, are monitored through a phone application they use to report, according to an analysis by Syracuse University revealed on Monday, July 9.

Of the 179,761 immigrants monitored by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 152,692 are monitored using SmartLINK technology, a phone application that tracks where immigrants are located and through which they have to take photos to send to the officers who have their cases.

Photo: EFE/Luis Torres

Ankle monitors or voice recognition

Just over 19,000 immigrants in the country wear ankle monitors and 2,763 are monitored using voice recognition technology, according to the report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of the New York university.

Similarly, some 4,557 use VeriWatch technology, a type of watch that has GPS tracking.

TRAC’s report shows that some 18,478 of the immigrants included in the ATD program live in Chicago or in surrounding cities in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri.

Criticism of the program

The ATD program has been expanded under President Joe Biden’s administration and criticized by Republicans who prefer to keep most immigrants in detention centers.

US uses app to monitor 150,000 migrants
Photo: EFE

Analysis of data as of June 30 found that some 37,509 foreign nationals are being held in ICE jails, of which 61.3% have no criminal record.

“Many more only commit minor infractions, including traffic violations,” TRAC points out.

The majority of those arrested during fiscal year 2024 were held in Texas prisons, according to data updated as of June 10.

With information from EFE

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2024-07-09 21:37:37

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