U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is considering “virtual” arrests to address a growing backlog of unprocessed illegal immigrants.
Deputy Director of ICE Tae Johnson told the House Appropriations Committee on April 18 that his agency has been overloaded with work due to the unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants along the U.S. border with Mexico over the past two years.
One result of this has been that many illegal aliens captured by ICE and Border Patrol have been released into the interior without legal papers ordering them to appear in court.
It’s standard procedure to issue “Notices to Appear” (NTAs) to illegal aliens being released from flooded ICE detention facilities along the border. NTAs constitute the first step in beginning the legal deportation process….