EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s non-detainee docket grew to more than 7 million cases in fiscal year 2024.
Internal federal data obtained by Fox News shows that ICE’s non-detainee docket has reached 7.4 million cases and is on track to reach 8 million by the end of the fiscal year, multiple federal sources confirmed to Fox News.
The non-detainee file, which the agency’s website explains is part of its Alternatives to Detention program, provided case management support to released migrants that ICE said has helped “support compliance with conditions.” of release by non-citizens” and “increase court appearance rates.
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This split shows President Biden and migrants at the southern border. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta and Fox News)
However, the increase in immigrants on the docket has exacerbated staffing problems at the agency, which only has about 6,000 deportation agents nationwide, and not all of them work on the non-detainee docket. As a result, each ICE officer working on the file is responsible for managing an average of 7,000 cases.
Making their way through the mountain of cases is essentially impossible with current levels of manpower and resources, federal sources told Fox News, as the increasing pace of border crossings puts great pressure on ICE employees.
President Biden speaks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials while visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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The non-detainee docket has added more than 1 million cases since Oct. 1 and has more than doubled since President Biden took office in 2021, when the docket had just under 3.7 million cases.
The number of people on the non-detainee file also does not include the nearly 1.9 million recorded escapees who have entered the country since Biden took office, federal sources said, noting that those migrants have not had any contact with the Department of National security.
However, those 1.9 million are also the responsibility of ICE agents, who have the task of tracking and expelling these migrants, in addition to managing the file of non-detainees.
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The White House and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from Fox News Digital’s immigration hub.
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