In a move that is infuriating Republicans, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has released hundreds of undocumented immigrants in an effort to save money ahead of Friday's looming budget sequestration.
The ICE is clarifying that it isn't dropping deportation procedures against the immigrants who have been released. Instead, their prosecutions will continue, but the federal government will not pay for their detentions before they have been convicted.
Typically, customs agents will jail people who are suspected of being in the country illegally, even those charged with non-violent offenses. These people are awaiting trial but have not yet been convicted, yet immigration pays to jail and feed them in the meantime. The process is not only expensive, but many immigrants rights advocates say it is cruel and separates families.
"In order to make the best use of our limited detention resources in the current fiscal climate and to manage our detention population under current congressionally mandated levels, ICE has directed field offices to review the detained population to ensure it is in line with available funding," said spokesperson Gillian M. Christensen.
Deportation proceedings can drag on for months, even years.
The number of freed immigrants is only a small percentage of those currently being held in custody. On an average day, the ICE holds more than 30,000 people in detention.
Congressional Republicans claim the release is a publicity stunt by the Obama administration to frighten lawmakers and the public into compromising on a deal to avert the $87 billion sequestration cuts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it still maintains custody of violent offenders who are scheduled for deportation.
"All I can say is, look, we're doing our very best to minimize the impacts of sequester. But there's only so much I can do. I'm supposed to have 34,000 detention beds for immigration. How do I pay for those?" said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
More than 11 million people in the United States are undocumented immigrants with little or no legal standing. A bill with bipartisan support would create a path to citizenship for many of those people, provided that border security is also increased.
President Obama has said the border is already secure, and net immigration is at zero, due to the sluggish American economy. Still, he is not opposed to the congressional plan, though he would like to see deportation deferments for young undocumented immigrants and expedited paperwork for close family members of Americans, including for same-sex couples.