Key Takeaways
• ICE is tracking over 4.5 million migrants with ankle monitors and digital tools amid overcrowded detention centers.
• About 180,000 migrants are monitored daily using GPS ankle bracelets and the SmartLink app under the ATD program.
• Private companies operate 86% of detention centers, raising concerns over profit-driven oversight and migrant rights.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken new steps to increase how it tracks undocumented immigrants in the United States 🇺🇸. According to recent government reports, ICE is now trying to keep track of more than 4.5 million migrants using ankle monitors and other electronic devices. This expanded effort comes at a time when the immigration system is facing a growing number of arrivals, overcrowded detention centers, and ongoing debates about public safety, human rights, and government resources.
ICE’s Expanded Surveillance: What’s Happening?
ICE’s electronic monitoring program, known as Alternatives to Detention (ATD), lets the government watch migrants without locking them up in physical detention centers. As of now, ICE uses a mix of GPS ankle bracelets and the SmartLink app, which requires regular check-ins, to monitor about 180,000 undocumented immigrants every day. These numbers are expected to rise sharply under the new expansion.
Most migrants who now visit ICE offices for their check-ins are leaving with ankle monitors or other tracking devices. Analysts believe this is part of an effort by President Trump’s administration to place more immigrants under electronic surveillance, especially as ICE struggles with having too many people in detention centers. The government hopes these tools will help keep migrants from skipping their immigration hearings and make it easier to know where everyone is at all times.
How Do Ankle Monitors and Other Tracking Devices Work?
The technology ICE uses is not new, but it is growing quickly in reach and impact. Here’s a breakdown of the main tracking methods:
- Ankle Monitors: These are GPS devices worn like bracelets around the ankle. They send constant location data using satellite signals. If someone wearing an ankle monitor tries to take it off or doesn’t charge it, ICE will know right away.
– Other Devices: ICE has also tested wrist-worn bracelets and similar gadgets that work much like the ankle models. - SmartLink App: This smartphone app allows migrants to check in regularly by sending ICE their location and identity through a phone call or photo.
Electronic tracking is meant to help ICE supervise “non-detained” migrants—those who aren’t physically locked up but are required to show they will show up for court and follow government orders.
Why Expand the Use of Monitors Now?
The main reason ICE is expanding electronic monitoring is that the current system is under great stress. ICE detention centers are now filled past normal capacity. Data from February 2025 shows these centers were holding people at 109% of their designed limits. This means there are more migrants in detention than there are beds or space for them.
Because ICE cannot detain everyone who enters the United States 🇺🇸 or stays without papers, the agency has let some migrants go under strict rules that they must return for their court dates. Critics have called this approach “catch and release.” With the expanded use of surveillance tools, ICE officials say they can keep a closer watch and ensure migrants do not disappear or miss their hearings.
Government Strategies to Handle Overcrowding
Faced with record numbers of arrivals and strained detention centers, ICE and other government agencies have decided to take several new steps:
- Looking to expand detention spaces in eight states, including California, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Texas.
- Requesting more money from Congress to build new facilities and to form more partnerships with local police.
- Speeding up how quickly immigration courts handle cases of those with “executable final orders of removal”—meaning migrants a judge has ordered to leave the country.
- President Trump’s administration is also directing the Defense and Homeland Security departments to add 30,000 beds for migrants at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base. New plans are also underway to use other military bases like Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas, as holding centers for migrant detainees.
These moves show just how big the backlog and crowds have become in the system. They also raise questions about the best ways to handle the increasing number of migrants, especially those who, according to the government, are not considered dangerous.
Concerns and Criticisms: Is Electronic Monitoring Fair or Safe?
Not everyone agrees with the expanded use of ankle monitors for migrants. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other rights groups have strongly criticized these changes. They say that making so many people wear ankle monitors or use the SmartLink app turns U.S. cities into open-air prisons, even if migrants are not locked up behind bars.
There are other worries, too:
- Privacy and Human Rights: Electronic surveillance can make migrants feel watched and controlled at all times, even when they are living in the community. This level of monitoring has raised many concerns about personal privacy and normal life.
- Impact on Families: Migrants with ankle monitors may have trouble going to work, taking their children to school, or participating in daily life. Many report feeling embarrassed or stressed by having to wear a visible ankle bracelet.
- Health and Safety: Wearing an ankle monitor can lead to physical discomfort or even injury, especially if the device is not fitted correctly or causes skin problems.
- Technology Issues: Devices may sometimes malfunction or lose signal, which could lead to unfair accusations of trying to avoid tracking or skipping monitoring requirements.
The Role of Private Companies in Detention and Monitoring
A large part of the detention and monitoring system is run by private companies for profit. In fact, about 86% of ICE’s detention centers are not run by the government directly but by firms such as the GEO Group, CoreCivic, LaSalle Corrections, and the Management Training Corporation.
Rights groups claim that this privatization makes abuse and neglect more likely, since companies may face fewer inspections and be less open to the public than government-run centers. There are many stories of poor living conditions, slow medical response, and a lack of oversight in some private facilities. Critics argue that expanding electronic monitoring will only give more business to these private companies, which profit every time a new ankle monitor is made or used.
Supporters’ Point of View: Why ICE Says Monitoring Works
ICE argues that expanding the use of ankle monitors and other electronic tracking will increase safety, make sure migrants show up for court, and help the system avoid even more expensive or overcrowded detention centers.
From ICE’s perspective, electronic monitoring is less strict than putting someone behind bars, but it still helps the government track people who might leave the area or avoid deportation after a judge’s order. The agency claims that supervised release programs like ATD save taxpayer money compared to keeping each migrant in custody.
ICE also says ankle monitors and phone check-ins allow migrants greater freedom and, for those following the rules, keep them with their families as their immigration cases move along. ICE’s overview of the Alternatives to Detention program can be found on their official website.
Real-Life Impact: What Does Monitoring Mean for Migrants?
For the people affected, the rules can change daily life. A migrant who leaves an ICE office with an ankle monitor must keep it charged, ensure it is not tampered with, and respond quickly to any request for check-in, whether by app, phone, or in person. Failure to follow these rules—even by accident—can lead to arrest or deportation.
Children and family members often feel the stress as well. Living with the fear of sudden visits by ICE officials and the constant reminder of an ankle monitor can affect mental health and make it hard to feel safe or settled. This is especially true for young children who may struggle to understand why their parent must wear a visible tracking device.
Can Electronic Monitoring Replace Detention?
As reported by VisaVerge.com, the expansion of ankle monitors and other surveillance has not ended detention. Instead, both physical detention and electronic monitoring are being used more than ever as the government faces record numbers of new arrivals and a backlog of court cases. The use of ankle monitors may allow ICE to release more migrants from custody, especially those labeled as “nonviolent,” but it does not offer true freedom.
Many experts say that while electronic monitoring is not as restrictive as jail, it places a heavy burden on those who want to build a normal life while waiting for their case. It also creates new challenges for the immigration system that must balance public safety, fairness, and efficiency.
What Happens Next? The Future of Monitoring and Migrant Rights
The story of ICE and ankle monitors is still being written. ICE plans to continue seeking more money and legal tools to monitor as many as 4.5 million people in the coming phase. The agency is also likely to keep using technology to solve the problem of overcrowded detention centers.
However, rights groups and community organizations promise to keep pushing back against what they call harsh and unfair treatment. Lawsuits may try to limit how ankle monitors and private companies are used, or to force more open review of the system.
For now, anyone in the immigration system—whether a migrant, family member, employer, or advocate—should be aware that ICE’s monitoring policies are changing quickly. The balance between keeping communities safe and protecting basic rights is being debated in the courts and in Congress.
Key Points to Remember
- ICE is now trying to track more than 4.5 million migrants using ankle monitors and digital check-ins to ease pressure on crowded detention centers.
- Most monitoring is done through GPS ankle monitors and the SmartLink phone app, with heavy use in programs called Alternatives to Detention (ATD).
- With detention centers filled beyond capacity, the “catch and release” approach now often involves electronic surveillance to ensure migrants return for court hearings.
- Critics, including the ACLU, say the system turns cities into prisons and puts too much power in the hands of private companies and government surveillance programs.
- ICE says the expanded tracking helps public safety, saves money, and allows many migrants to stay out of jail while waiting for court.
- Those affected often face tough rules and challenges in daily life, raising ongoing questions about rights and fairness.
Keep an eye on official resources like ICE’s monitoring program for the latest changes, and look to news services such as VisaVerge.com for up-to-date facts and careful analysis. As the numbers grow and technology changes, this issue will stay at the center of the immigration debate in the United States 🇺🇸.
Learn Today
Alternatives to Detention (ATD) → A program supervising migrants electronically rather than detaining them in physical facilities while awaiting immigration court proceedings.
SmartLink App → A smartphone application requiring migrants to regularly check in by submitting their location or photos to ICE for monitoring purposes.
Ankle Monitor → A GPS device worn on the ankle, used by ICE to track migrants’ movements and ensure compliance with immigration rules.
Executable Final Orders of Removal → Legal decisions ordering certain migrants to leave the country, which the government seeks to enforce quickly.
Privatization of Detention Centers → The practice where private companies, not the government, run most ICE detention facilities, often for profit.
This Article in a Nutshell
ICE’s expanded use of ankle monitors and digital surveillance now impacts millions of undocumented migrants. While intended to relieve packed detention centers, these tools raise questions about privacy, family life, and effectiveness. Critics cite risks to rights, while ICE states monitoring ensures court attendance and saves resources during immigration surges.
— By VisaVerge.com
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• Project Homecoming Sends Immigrants Mixed Signals
• Supreme Court Shields Due Process for Undocumented Immigrants
• UK plans to double permanent residency wait for some migrants
• REAL ID rules take effect, changing access for undocumented immigrants
• ICE Agents Go Undercover to Trick Immigrants
