Shocking OIG Report: DHS Fails to Track 177,000 Migrants

A report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has revealed significant lapses in recording addresses for migrants released into the United States. The OIG audited 981,671 migrant records from March 2021 to August 2022 and found that 177,000 migrants had been recorded with missing, invalid, or illegitimate addresses. Of these, over 54,000 records contained no address information at all.

The release of the OIG's findings comes amidst ongoing debates over U.S. immigration policy and border security and the significant number of migrants being processed at the southern border. During the period monitored by the OIG, the Border Patrol released over 430,000 migrants with a Notice to Appear (NTA) in court. An additional 95,000 were released under prosecutorial discretion, and more than 318,000 were released under humanitarian parole. On average, the agency releases over 60,000 migrants each month.
The report highlighted the lack of adequate resources and inter-agency coordination as contributing factors to the problem. "USBP [U.S. Border Patrol] did not accurately and effectively capture valid addresses, in part due to the large number of migrants apprehended, as well as its limited coordination with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and its limited authority to administer compliance with address requirements," the OIG report stated.

According to the audit, the inaccurate address recording could affect the government's ability to track migrants once they are inside the country. This is crucial for various reasons, from sending court documentation to executing deportation orders. The report found instances where 97,000 addresses had no apartment unit numbers, 780 addresses were used more than 20 times, and some addresses were recorded more than 500 times. The OIG also discovered that a single individual was listed as a point of contact for 100 migrants.

The issue is not solely a matter of administrative oversight; it has tangible repercussions. For example, of a sample size of 25,000 migrants required to check in with ICE, 52% failed when their recorded address was missing or faulty. Overall, the percentage of migrants who did not check in as required stood at 28%.

Despite the concerning findings, DHS has pushed back against the report, disagreeing with the OIG's recommendations for remedial action. The agency has pointed to several steps to improve the situation, such as a new unified immigration portal and an online change-of-address form launched in April. Funding has also been secured for more processing officials and agents to be employed.

A DHS spokesperson stated, "Our immigration system is broken and outdated, and Congress needs to fix it. Even under those outdated laws, the Department has improved how noncitizens are processed and vetted." The agency criticized the OIG for ignoring the operational and legal constraints that hinder the full implementation of its recommendations and noted that the report did not account for recent improvements made by DHS.

While the OIG's report recommends better coordination between federal agencies involved and establishing a specific ICE policy to validate addresses, it remains to be seen how or if, DHS will act upon these recommendations, as they have not concurred with any of them yet.