ICE plans call centre to track unaccompanied migrant children, other immigration offenders
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The centre would aim to feed information from state and local police to federal authorities, including the locations of unaccompanied children.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aims to open a call centre that would have a dedicated unit to track down unaccompanied migrant children with the help of state and local police, an agency contracting document said, part of a wider Trump administration effort to find and potentially deport the minors.
The centre would aim to feed information from state and local police to federal authorities, including the locations of unaccompanied children, according to the document, which was posted to a government contracting website on Nov 4.
ICE wants to create a round-the-clock facility that could handle 6,000-7,000 calls per day related to immigration enforcement, it said.
US President Donald Trump’s administration kicked off an initiative in February to find and deport unaccompanied children
The Trump administration has since taken other steps to increase enforcement, including an attempt to deport dozens of Guatemalan children despite them having active US immigration cases.
At the same time, the Republican administration has greatly expanded partnerships with state and local authorities to ramp up immigration arrests under a programme known as 287(g).
The number of state and local agencies participating in the programme has risen from 135 just before Mr Trump took office to more than 1,100, according to ICE data.
Critics have said the partnerships can erode trust in immigrant communities and make people less likely to report crimes.
The contracting document said the call centre would be located in Nashville, but did not explain why that city was selected.
CoreCivic, one of the main companies that contracts with ICE to operate immigration detention centres, is headquartered in Nashville.
The US Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CoreCivic did not immediately respond to requests for comment. REUTERS
