WASHINGTON CMC – The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says agents have taken 28 Caribbean and other immigrants back into custody after they were recently released from detention centers and jails around the country.
ICE said the immigrants were re-taken “after either violating the terms of their supervision or after the agency discovered information not available during an initial review of their case.”
“ICE will continue to review the terms of release for the individuals as part of its routine practice and will reconsider conditions as necessary,” said the agency in a statement on Wednesday, without identifying the nationalities of the detainees.
The agency had initially set free more than 2 000 Caribbean and other immigrants from jails and detention centers in anticipation of mandatory US federal budget cuts called sequestration.
ICE Director John Morton testified before a US House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that the timing of the releases “caught many by surprise.”
He said the agency, which needs to cut nearly US$300 million over the next seven months, “took careful steps to ensure that national security and public safety were not compromised by the releases.” (CMC)
