ICE Shuts Down Programs that Spent “Tens of Millions” on Services for Illegal Aliens

FAIR Take | January 2025

In a Dec. 26 letter to 16 House members, Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed that it had quietly ceased enrolling illegal aliens in two costly programs that offered them a broad range of social services. The two programs, part of ICE’s Alternatives to Detention program (ATD), were billed as a way to improve the likelihood that illegal aliens who were released via ATD would comply with required check-ins with ICE and show up for court dates.

“Tens of millions” of taxpayer dollars later, ICE conceded that the programs produced very little benefit. In its response to inquiries from congressional leaders, ICE reported that participant referrals to one of the programs, Wraparound Stabilization Service (WSS), were barely more likely to abide by the terms of the ATD program than those who were set loose without the deluxe package of services. “While in use, participants assigned to WSS and who took part in the services offered had a 2% higher compliance rate than participants not assigned services.” In conclusion, ICE noted “the challenge with the WSS was its immense cost with little improvement.”

The letter revealed that a second program, aimed at Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs) who age out of Department of Health and Human Service custody when they turn 18, has also been scrapped. The Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP) was described by Acting ICE Director Tae Johnson in 2022 as one that, “will help ICE address the needs of young adults as they navigate the immigration process at a critical time in their lives.” He added that ICE is “committed to providing for the health and welfare of all noncitizens in our custody, while ensuring they have access to needed resources and support.”

Two-plus years later, it appears that YACMP wasn’t really meeting those objectives and was just wasting more taxpayer money. ICE stated, “In addition to fiscal limitations, a review of the program revealed that YACMP does not align with ERO’s [Enforcement and Removal Operations] mission or priorities.” However, it is unclear what that mission or those priorities have actually been under the Biden administration.

While taxpayers have not been getting very much for their money in terms of improved compliance, the illegal aliens in WSS certainly were. Like other programs for illegal aliens established by the Biden administration, WSS funneled money to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that received lucrative contracts to provide services to illegal aliens. According to several ICE reports, the services to be provided under WSS included:

• Assistance with school enrollments,
• Medical care as needed (vaccinations, referrals for emergent care centers, etc.),
• Food assistance,
• Clothing assistance,
• Immigration attorney referrals using the approved Department of Justice list of low- to no-cost attorneys,
• Family and individual therapy and rehabilitation,
• Parenting education sessions, and
• Child abuse prevention orientation.

YACMP, which was originally funded by Congress, included a similar list of services for participants.

It is unclear from ICE’s letter to Members of Congress if all of the illegal aliens enrolled in these two programs were entitled to the smorgasbord of services that the agency made available.

What seems to have been lost over the past several years (in addition to taxpayer money) is that ICE is not a social services provider; it is a law enforcement agency that is supposed to remove people from the country who have no legal basis for being here. With the onset of a new administration that has stated its intent to deport illegal aliens and slash government waste, and a Congress that is prepared to exercise meaningful oversight, the American public should expect that ICE will once again use the resources they are provided to protect their interests and security.