Alternatives to Detention: Improved Data Collection and Analyses Needed to Better Assess Program Effectiveness
Released: 2014-11-13T00:00:00

Letter

Background

EOIR and ICE Roles in Managing Aliens

Within the Department of Justice, EOIR immigration judges conduct hearings to determine whether an alien is removable from the United States and whether he or she is eligible for a form of relief or protection from removal. If an immigration judge determines that an alien is removable from the United States and not eligible for relief or protection from removal, including voluntary departure, the immigration judge can issue an order of removal. The removal order becomes administratively final when all avenues for appeal with EOIR to remain in the United States have been exhausted or waived by the alien, and the alien is to be removed from the United States. Once an order of removal is final, ICE is responsible for carrying out the removal. In fiscal year 2013, ICE reported removing 368,644 aliens from the United States.

While immigration judges have the authority to make custody determinations, ICE also makes the initial decision as to whether to detain aliens in ICE custody or release them to the community pending removal proceedings, subject to certain laws. The Immigration and Nationality Act, as well as other legislation, requires that under specified circumstances ICE detain certain aliens, including those arriving without documentation or with fraudulent documentation, those who are inadmissible or removable on criminal or national security grounds, and Even if not required to those aliens subject to a final order of removal.do so, ICE may detain aliens who it believes pose a threat to public safety or are flight risks, with the option for some aliens to be subsequently released. In fiscal year 2013, ICE booked 440,557 aliens into detention facilities.

ICE uses one or more release options when it determines that an alien is not to be detained in ICE’s custody—including bond, order of recognizance, order of supervision, parole, and on condition of participation in the ATD program.

If an alien is not a threat to public safety, presents a low risk of flight, and is not required to be detained, ICE may release him or her on (1) a bond of at least $1,500 or (2) an order of recognizance that requires the alien to abide by specified release conditions but does not require the alien to post a bond.

DHS may release an alien on an order of supervision, despite such alien being subject to a final order of removal, where there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future, because, for example, travel documents are not forthcoming. An alien subject to a final order of deportation or removal may also request a stay of deportation or removal. ICE may release certain aliens on parole for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, or for a medical emergency or legitimate law enforcement objective, on a case-by-case basis.

Finally, an alien can also be placed in the ATD program, which requires that, among other things, aliens released into the community agree to appear at all hearings and report to ICE periodically.

In fiscal year 2013, ICE released aliens under these various options 113,690 times, as shown in table 1.

To assist ICE officers in their decisions whether to detain aliens in ICE custody or release them, ICE developed an analytical tool known as the Risk Classification Assessment (RCA). The RCA, which ICE fully deployed in February 2013, considers several factors related to an alien’s public safety and flight risks—such as criminal history, prior removal data, ties to the local community, and gang affiliation—and recommends each alien for detention or release. An ICE officer reviews the RCA results along with other factors, such as an alien’s final order status, and, after obtaining supervisory approval, makes a custody determination. ICE officials stated that they generally do not use the RCA for aliens that ICE must detain by law or that are likely to be removed from the United States within 5 days.

Overview of the ATD Program

ICE created the ATD program in 2004 as another condition of release to help ensure that aliens released into the community appear at their immigration proceedings. The ATD program seeks to provide an enhanced monitoring option for those aliens for whom ICE, or an immigration judge, has determined that detention is neither mandated nor appropriate, yet may need a higher level of supervision than that provided by the less restrictive release conditions.case for possible placement in ATD, officers are to consider the alien’s criminal history, compliance history, community and family ties, and humanitarian concerns. ICE may require participation in the ATD program as a condition of the alien’s release during immigration proceedings, or upon receipt of the alien’s final order of removal or grant of voluntary departure.

When reviewing an alien’s For fiscal year 2003, ICE was allocated $3 million for alternatives to detention to promote community-based programs for supervised release from detention. Subsequently, ICE created the first iteration of the ATD program in 2004 across eight cities; this iteration ran until 2009 and consisted of three separate programs operated by ICE and two companies under separate contracts.varying levels of alien supervision intended to help improve alien attendance rates at scheduled immigration court proceedings. By the end of 2009, the ATD program expanded to all of the 24 ICE ERO field offices and 5 of 186 suboffices.

ICE initiated the second phase of the ATD program in 2009 with a 5-year contract with a private contractor and consolidated the program into a single contract with two components—Full-service and Technology- only. Behavioral Interventions, Inc. (BI), the contractor, operates the Full-service component out of stand-alone sites or out of ICE offices— currently in 45 cities. To be eligible for the Full-service component, aliens must be at least 18 years old and generally must reside within about 75 miles of the contractor’s office, depending on the field office. The contractor maintains in-person contact with the alien, which includes requiring periodic office visits and conducting unscheduled home visits, and monitoring the alien with either Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment or a telephonic reporting system. The contractor also provides case management services, which may include helping aliens understand the legal process, acquiring travel documents, and developing travel plans; reminds aliens to attend immigration proceedings; and handles initial alerts and violations for aliens. Last, the contractor documents aliens’ attendance at court hearings and compliance with electronic monitoring and in-person supervision requirements. ICE officers are ultimately responsible for removing aliens from the United States and responding to program violations.

ICE officers can change the level of supervision regardless of where an alien is in his or her immigration proceedings, per a contract modification. According to contractor officials, this is typically done in special circumstances. released into the community after a post-order custody review; the level of supervision determined for these aliens depends on whether their removal from the United States is significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.

ICE ERO field office officials manage the Technology-only component of the ATD program, which is available in 96 locations, utilizing the contractor’s systems and equipment. The Technology-only component offers a lower level of supervision at a lower contract cost than the Full- service component and allows ICE to monitor aliens’ compliance with the terms of their release using either telephonic reporting or GPS equipment ICE officers are responsible for providing provided by the contractor.case management, in addition to removing aliens from the country and responding to violations. In locations where Full-service and Technology- only are available, ICE officers can de-escalate aliens from the Full- service component to the Technology-only component (or vice versa) at their discretion. For both components, ICE officers determine when an alien’s participation in the program should be terminated. ICE terminates aliens from the ATD program who are removed from the United States, depart voluntarily, are arrested by ICE for removal, or receive a benefit or relief from removal. ICE may also terminate an alien from the program when aliens are arrested by another law enforcement entity, abscond, or otherwise violate the conditions of the ATD program. Further, ICE may terminate an alien from the program if ICE officers determine the alien is no longer required to participate. The program requirements for the various levels of supervision for aliens in the Full-service and Technology- only components are shown in figure 1.

ICE Expanded the ATD Program and Changed Program Use, but Has Not Monitored Implementation of Guidance Intended to Help Ensure Program Cost-Effectiveness

The number of aliens participating in the ATD program increased from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013, in part because of increases in either enrollments or the average length of time aliens spent in one of the program’s components; and ICE changed the focus of the program to align with changes in agency priorities. Pursuant to ICE guidance in 2011, ICE also recommended that ERO field offices transition aliens among the two ATD program components—or levels of supervision—to help facilitate cost-effective use of the ATD program; however, ICE has not monitored the extent to which ERO field offices have consistently implemented the guidance. ICE plans to increase the average daily participation level of both ATD program components with increased funding, but ATD program officials stated that several factors affect their ability to identify future capacity and expand the program.

The Number of Aliens Participating in the ATD Program Increased, in Part, because of Increased Enrollments and Longer Times That Some Aliens Spent in the Program

ICE increased the number of aliens participating in the ATD program over the last 3 fiscal years with some differences between the Full-service and Technology-only components, and this increase, in part, can be attributed to increased enrollments and the increased average length of time aliens spent in the Technology-only component of the program. Specifically, the total number of unique aliens who participated in the program increased from 32,065 in fiscal year 2011 to 40,864 in fiscal year 2013, with most aliens participating in the Full-service component, as shown in figure 2. These numbers include all aliens in the ATD program for each of these years—regardless of the year in which they were initially enrolled. The increase in the number of aliens in the program over this time occurred primarily in the Technology-only component. Specifically, the overall number of aliens participating in the ATD program grew by 27 percent; the number of aliens in the Technology-only component increased by 84 percent; and the number of aliens in the Full-service component increased by 23 percent.

During this time, the composition of aliens in the ATD program also changed to align with agency priorities. Specifically, ICE shifted its overall enforcement priorities with a June 2010 policy memorandum that detailed the priorities for alien apprehension, detention, and removal as follows: (1) aliens who pose a danger to national security or a risk to public safety—including aliens convicted of crimes—and (2) recent illegal entrants and aliens who are fugitives or otherwise obstruct immigration controls.memo, ICE has resources to remove only approximately 400,000 aliens per year from the country, less than 4 percent of the estimated illegal alien population in the United States. According to ICE data, about 50 percent of aliens in the ATD program met an ICE enforcement priority in ICE established such priorities because, as stated in the fiscal year 2012, such as aliens convicted of crimes. As of April 2014, ICE reported that about 90 percent of aliens in the ATD program met ICE enforcement priorities and 51 percent were criminal aliens.

One factor contributing to the increase in ATD program participation was that ICE generally increased the number of aliens it enrolled in the program each year. Specifically, the total number of unique enrollments in the ATD program increased by 26 percent—from 16,252 in fiscal year 2011 to 20,441 in fiscal year 2013—although there was a slight decline in fiscal year 2012 before increasing in fiscal year 2013. As shown in figure 3, the increase from fiscal years 2011 to 2013 was due to enrollments in the Full-service component—which increased by 60 percent during this time.

Information on alien enrollments showed that the extent to which ICE booked aliens into detention facilities or released them into the community varied across fiscal years 2011 through fiscal year 2013, as shown in table 2, although these enrollments were not unique. For example, these enrollments include aliens who may have been enrolled in both detention and one or more release options in the same fiscal year and aliens who may have been booked multiple times into detention facilities or released multiple times under the same option in the same fiscal year.

During this time, ICE also expanded use of the ATD program across ERO field office and suboffice locations. Specifically, ICE expanded use of the Full-service component from 38 ERO field offices and suboffices in fiscal year 2011 to 44 field offices in fiscal year 2013. During this time, ICE expanded the use of the Technology-only component from 70 to 76 ERO field office and suboffice locations that were actively using the component.

Another factor contributing to the increase in the number of aliens in the Technology-only component of the ATD program was an increase in the length of time these aliens were in the program. While the average length of time aliens spent in the ATD program has remained fairly constant, differences existed across the program’s components. The average length of time that aliens spent in the Full-service component decreased by about 20 percent from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013, while the average length of time increased nearly 80 percent for aliens in the Technology-only component during this same time, as shown in table 3. Specifically, aliens enrolled in the Full-service component in fiscal year 2013 spent about 10 months in the component, and those enrolled in Technology-only in fiscal year 2013 spent about 18 months in this component. of guidance that directs field office officials to move compliant aliens from the more expensive Full-service component to the Technology-only component after 90 days, which is discussed later in this report.

ICE Increased the Number of Aliens Terminated from the ATD Program, but Has Not Monitored Implementation of Guidance to Help Ensure Cost-Effective Program Implementation

ICE increased the number of aliens terminated from the ATD program since 2011 after guidance directed ERO field offices to more cost- effectively use the ATD program; however, ICE has not monitored the extent to which field offices have implemented the guidance. Under the original ATD contract, ICE officials stated that aliens enrolled in the ATD program generally stayed in the program from the time of enrollment through completion of the immigration process (i.e., completion of a final court hearing or, if ordered removed at the final hearing, removal from the United States). However, concerned about the time it has taken for aliens to complete immigration proceedings and the subsequent impact on ATD program costs, ICE recommended in 2011 that ERO field offices help facilitate cost-effective use of the ATD program. Pursuant to this guidance, ICE officials recommended that field officials reserve more intense and costly supervision options under the Full-service component for (1) aliens who are newly enrolled in ATD who do not have an order of removal or an immediate immigration court date and (2) aliens who have already received a final order of removal from the country—the latter of which is seen as a best practice, according to ICE. Specifically, pursuant to ICE’s guidance, ICE recommended that ICE ERO field office officials assess whether aliens in the Full-service component demonstrated compliance with the conditions of their release, at least every 90 days, and if so, terminate them from the Full-service component after 90 days and de-escalate them to lower levels of supervision at a lower cost by moving them to the Technology-only component of the ATD program. Conversely, ICE recommended that ERO field office officials terminate aliens from the Technology-only component who received their final order of removal or grant of voluntary departure and escalate them to the Full- service component so that ICE, along with the contractor, could more easily monitor and ensure their departure. Subsequently, ICE increased the number of terminations from the two components of the ATD program. Specifically, as shown in figure 4, ICE increased the number of terminations from the Full-service component by 82 percent and the number of terminations from the Technology-only component by 299 percent from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013.

ICE does not have complete data to identify the specific reasons field officials decided to terminate aliens from the program and therefore cannot determine whether ERO field offices are implementing the guidance for changing an alien’s level of supervision between the ATD program components with the goal of cost-effectively implementing the ATD program. According to ICE officials, because the individual circumstances for each alien’s case can vary, the decision to terminate or change an alien’s level of supervision is made by the field officer, who decides whether to keep aliens in the Full-service component, de- escalate aliens from the Full-service component to the Technology-only component, or terminate aliens from the ATD program entirely by placing them in detention or releasing them under their own recognizance or another release option. While ICE collects some data on the reasons for termination decisions made by field officials, ICE does not collect data on the specific reason why field officials would determine an alien is no longer required to participate in the program. For example, our analysis of termination data for the Full-service component showed that 13 percent of terminations from the Full-service component were made after confirmation of an alien’s removal and departure from the United States or after the alien had been granted relief and benefits to remain in the country, and another 15 percent of terminations were made for reasons including that aliens had violated the terms of the ATD program, had absconded, had been arrested, were pending departure, or other reasons. However, it was unclear why ERO field office officials made most terminations—71 percent—before the completion of the aliens’ immigration proceedings or removal from the United States, because the reason provided was that a field official determined that an alien was no longer required to participate in the program. As a result, ICE officials stated that they did not know if field office officials made the majority of these terminations in response to its guidance recommending changing the levels of supervision that could result in more cost-effective operation of the program, or for other reasons.Full-service terminations in fiscal years 2011 through 2013.

ICE Officials Cited Factors That Affect Future Capacity and Expansion of the ATD Program

ICE intends to increase the average daily participation level of both ATD program components with increased funding, according to ICE’s fiscal year 2015 budget justification; however, ATD program officials stated that several factors affect their ability to identify future capacity and expand the program. These officials said that one of these factors was limited information for determining how many aliens who were detained or otherwise released could have been considered suitable for the ATD program. For example, ATD program officials said that ERO field office officials who manage the ATD program have the ability to see the cases that are referred to the ATD program, but not the cases that resulted in the alien being detained in ICE custody or released under other options after the RCA process is completed. Nationwide, the RCA tool recommended that 91 percent of the 168,087 aliens processed by the RCA in fiscal year 2013 be detained in ICE custody—some of whom were subsequently eligible for bond—and that the remaining 9 percent (15,162 aliens) be released under ATD or other release options. However, ICE field officials managing the ATD program may not have seen the cases that resulted in detention or release and accordingly, are limited in their ability to estimate to what extent ATD program capacity could be expanded or changed in their location. To help increase the number of cases referred for ATD program consideration, ICE has issued guidance to its ERO field offices emphasizing that all nondetained criminal aliens should be given priority consideration for ATD program enrollment. Accordingly, this guidance directs the Criminal Alien Program and Fugitive Operations teams that generate case referrals in the field to coordinate with their local ATD component for enrollment consideration, including aliens released on a bond. ICE reported that field offices coupling a bond with ATD as a condition of release have shown an increased rate of success in alien removals from the United States.

Other factors that ICE officials identified as affecting their ability to identify capacity and expand the ATD program are federal and state statutes and agency guidance. For example, ICE reported that from fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013, 77 percent to 80 percent of aliens in detention facilities were required to be detained under federal law, and were not eligible for In addition, federal law requires that consideration in the ATD program. ICE maintain a minimum of 34,000 detention beds each day,part of its fiscal year 2015 budget justification, ICE reported that a decrease in the number of detention beds required to be maintained would result in an increase in the number of aliens who could be enrolled in the ATD program. In regard to state statute, one state, for example, passed a law whereby law enforcement officials have the discretion to and as cooperate with federal immigration officials by detaining an individual on the basis of an immigration hold after that individual becomes eligible for release from custody, only where certain criteria are met. In regard to agency guidance, ICE has instructed ERO field offices generally not to enroll aliens who are not likely removable, as well as aliens who were brought to the United States as children and may be eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

ICE officials stated that they did not plan to expand use of the ATD program to additional ERO field office locations until after the new contract was in place; however, officials reported that several factors could affect whether a field office could be or is willing to implement the program. For example, ICE reported in May 2014 that five field offices had requested to implement the Full-service component in their office but ICE did not approve the requests because the field offices did not have the necessary resources to implement the program. Such resources include officers’ time to respond to instances of alien noncompliance with the terms of the program and review ATD cases and make supervision and termination decisions.

ICE Has Established Program Performance Measures for the ATD Program, but Has Not Collected Complete Data for Assessing Progress against All of These Measures

ICE established two program performance measures to assess the ATD program’s effectiveness in (1) ensuring alien compliance with court appearance requirements and (2) ensuring removals from the United States, as well as performance rates to evaluate the program’s performance, but limitations in data collection hinder ICE’s ability to assess overall program performance.

Compliance with court appearances. ICE established a program performance measure in 2004 to monitor alien compliance with requirements to appear at their immigration hearings. Data collected by ICE’s ATD contractor for the Full-service component of the ATD program from fiscal years 2011 through 2013 showed that over 99 percent of aliens with a scheduled court hearing appeared at their scheduled court hearings while participating in this component of the ATD program, with the appearance rate dropping slightly to over 95 percent of aliens with a scheduled final hearing appearing at their final removal hearing, as shown in figure 6.

However, ICE does not collect similar performance data or report results on the court appearance rate for aliens enrolled in the Technology-only component of the ATD program—which constituted 39 percent of the overall ATD program in fiscal year 2013. According to ICE officials, the agency did not require the contractor to capture similar data for the Technology-only component because when the ATD program was created, it was envisioned that most aliens would be in the Full-service component for the duration of the immigration process, and data for aliens in the Full-service component are collected by the contractor.officials stated that they did not have sufficient resources to collect such data for the Technology-only component, given other priorities.

ICE has taken steps to address the lack of data collection for the Technology-only component. Specifically, during the course of our review, ICE initiated a pilot program with its contractor in May 2014 to establish improved data collection efforts, as well as expanded supervision options. The pilot, which is being tested in eight cities, increases the role the ATD contractor has in collecting and tracking data on aliens in the Technology- only component. Specifically, the contractor tracks compliance with release requirements, including court appearance requirements, for aliens enrolled in the Technology-only component, as it already does for aliens enrolled in the Full-service component. Under the new contract, ICE plans to implement key aspects of the pilot across all program locations, including giving ICE officers the ability to require the contractor to track data on aliens in the Technology-only component—including data on court appearances—to the contractor, according to the request for proposal for the new ATD program contract. However, ICE officials will not be required to have the contractor collect these data under the contract. While ICE’s plan to expand data collection for the Technology- only component under the new contract is a positive step that will help provide more information for assessing the performance of that program component, ICE may not have complete data for assessing program performance without requirements that ICE or contractor field staff collect these data. Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government states that agencies should employ control activities to monitor their More specifically, agencies should develop mechanisms performance.to reliably collect data that can be used to compare and assess program outcomes related to entire program populations. Requiring ERO field offices to collect, or have the contractor collect, court appearance data on the Technology-only component of the ATD program would help ensure that ICE has complete data for assessing the performance of that program component as well as the overall ATD program, particularly in light of ICE’s guidance issued in fiscal year 2011 directing field offices to transition more aliens to the Technology-only component.

Removals from the United States. ICE established a new program performance measure in fiscal year 2011 to assess the number of aliens removed from the country who had participated in the ATD program. ICE officials said the decision to replace the court appearance goal with the removal goal was based on the fact that the court appearance rate had consistently surpassed 99 percent and the program needed to establish another goal to demonstrate improvement over time. For this program performance measure, a removal attributed to the ATD program counts if the alien (1) was enrolled in ATD for at least 1 day, and (2) was removed or had departed voluntarily from the United States in the same fiscal year, regardless of whether the alien was enrolled in ATD at the time the alien left the country. As shown in table 5, ATD met its goal for removals in fiscal years 2012 and 2013. In fiscal year 2012, their goal was to have a 3 percent increase from their fiscal year 2011 total, and in fiscal year 2013, a 3 percent increase from their 2012 removal goal.

Performance rates. ICE also uses four performance rates to evaluate how well the ATD program is operating while aliens are participating in the program. These four performance rates (success rate, failure rate, absconder rate, and removal rate)—though not measures of how well aliens in the ATD program comply with court appearances or removal orders—assess the status of an alien’s case at the time the alien is terminated from the ATD program. These performance rates are based on outcomes defined as favorable, neutral, and unfavorable.

Favorable outcomes reflect cases where the final outcome of an alien’s immigration proceeding resulted in either a verified departure from the United States or a grant of relief and benefits to remain in the country while the alien was an active participant in the ATD program.

Neutral outcomes do not reflect final outcomes of immigration proceedings, but rather include aliens who are terminated from the ATD program while awaiting departure, after being arrested, or because ICE determined the alien no longer needed to participate in the program—which could be because the case was administratively closed, the alien moved to a jurisdiction that did not have the ATD program, or ICE determined to lower or raise the alien’s level of supervision by moving him or her to a detention facility or another release option.

Unfavorable outcomes include aliens who were terminated from the ATD program after absconding or violating program requirements.

Specifically, the success rate reflects the percentage of aliens whose cases resulted in either favorable outcomes or neutral outcomes. This rate essentially measures the ATD program’s effectiveness in being able to track and monitor an alien while in the program, according to ICE officials. The failure rate is the converse of the success rate, measuring the percentage of unfavorable outcomes, including noncompliance with program terms or absconding from the program. The absconder rate measures the percentage of aliens whom ICE terminated from the program as a result of aliens absconding from the program. The removal rate approximates the percentage of aliens in ATD who will be removed or depart after the completion of their immigration proceedings. ICE calculates these rates for both its Full-service and Technology-only components.

Using these performance rates, ICE reported that for the Full-service component over the last 3 years, ICE, along with its contractor, was able to track and monitor 90 percent or more of aliens until they were terminated from the Full-service component of the ATD program, with variance in the rate of aliens who had absconded from the program or who were projected to be removed from the country. During that same time, ICE reported improved ability to track and monitor aliens in the Technology-only component from nearly 80 percent in fiscal year 2011 to nearly 90 percent in fiscal year 2013. See table 6 for Full-service and Technology-only performance rates over these last 3 years.

However, ATD program performance measures and rates provide limited information about the aliens who are terminated from the ATD program prior to receiving the final disposition of their immigration proceedings or were removed or voluntarily departed from the country. Specifically, with respect to program performance measures, ICE counts an alien who was terminated from the program and was subsequently removed from the United States toward his or her removal performance measure as long as the alien was in the program during the same fiscal year he or she was removed from the country. However, aliens who were terminated from the program do not count toward court appearance rates if they subsequently do not appear for court. Further, performance rates, for example, did not reflect whether the 87 percent of the aliens whom ICE terminated from the ATD program in fiscal year 2013 were removed, voluntarily departed from the United States, or were granted relief. ICE officials reported that it would be challenging to determine an alien’s compliance with the terms of his or her release after termination from the ATD program given insufficient resources and the size of the nondetained alien population. In accordance with ICE guidance, staff resources are instead directed toward apprehending and removing aliens from the United States who are considered enforcement and removal priorities.

Conclusions

The ATD program is intended to help ICE cost-effectively manage the aliens for whom ICE, or an immigration judge, has determined that detention is neither mandated nor appropriate, yet may need a higher level of supervision when released into the community until they are removed from the United States or receive approval to remain in the country. ICE has altered its implementation of the ATD program to address the cost associated with keeping aliens in the program in light of lengthy immigration proceedings. However, by analyzing data that ICE plans to collect on supervision levels and specific reasons aliens are terminated from the program, ICE could be better positioned to monitor ERO field offices’ implementation of guidance intended to ensure cost- effective management of the ATD program. Further, collecting reliable data on both components of the program would help ensure that ICE has more complete data for assessing the relative performance of these program components as well as the overall ATD program.

Recommendations for Executive Action

To strengthen ICE’s management of the ATD program and ensure that it has complete and reliable data to assess and make necessary resource and management decisions, we recommend that the Secretary of Homeland Security direct the Deputy Assistant Secretary of ICE to take the following two actions: analyze data on changes in supervision levels and program terminations to monitor ERO field offices’ implementation of ICE guidance intended to ensure cost-effective management of the program, and require that field offices ensure that ICE or contractor staff collect and report data on alien compliance with court appearance requirements for all participants in the Technology-only component of the ATD program.

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report to the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice for their review and comment—both provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. We provided selected excerpts of this draft report to the ATD contractor to obtain its views and verify the accuracy of the information it provided, and the contractor had no technical comments. DHS also provided written comments, which are summarized below and reproduced in full in appendix I. DHS concurred with the two recommendations in the report and described actions under way or planned to address them.

With regard to the first recommendation, that ICE analyze data on changes in supervision levels and program terminations to monitor field offices’ implementation of guidance intended to ensure cost-effective management of the program, DHS concurred. DHS stated that ICE recognized that, because of contractual limitations, information on termination codes was not amenable to detailed reporting and analysis, which limited the program’s ability to adapt and improve. To address this, ICE established a requirement under its new ATD contract that information on termination codes must be collected and reported and that this would allow for more in-depth analyses that may yield avenues for further program refinements. DHS provided an estimated completion date of December 31, 2014. These planned actions, if fully implemented to include monitoring of field offices’ cost-effective management of the program, should address the intent of the recommendation.

With regard to the second recommendation, to require that field offices ensure that ICE or contractor staff collect and report data on alien compliance with court appearance requirements for all participants in the Technology-only component of the ATD program, DHS concurred. DHS stated that ICE was aware that this recommended enhancement would greatly improve the program and that ICE began working in early fiscal year 2014 to implement the enhancement while developing the requirements for the new ATD contract. Under the new contract, ICE will have the opportunity to select a variety of case management services, including EOIR case tracking for any participant in the ATD program.

DHS provided an estimated completion date of December 31, 2014. These planned actions, if fully implemented to include oversight on the extent that field offices are ensuring that ICE or contractor staff collect and report data on alien compliance with court appearance rates, should address the intent of the recommendation.

We are sending copies to the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General of the United States, appropriate congressional committees, and other interested parties. In addition, the report is available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-8777 or gamblerr@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made significant contributions to this report are listed in appendix II.

Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Homeland Security

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Staff Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, Lacinda Ayers (Assistant Director), Tracey Cross, Landis Lindsey, David Alexander, Pedro Almoguera, Frances Cook, Jon Najmi, Jessica Orr, and Eric Warren made significant contributions to the work.