Overview

• A leaked ICE memo dated June 9 directs staff to outfit nearly all 183,000 migrants in the Alternatives to Detention program with GPS ankle or wrist monitors.
• Pregnant participants will receive wrist trackers while other migrants must wear bulkier ankle devices linked to real-time location reporting.
• GEO Group’s subsidiary BI Inc., originally built for cattle tracking, will manage the expanded surveillance network under a federal contract.
• Advocates report that the devices have caused rashes, bruises and psychological distress, turning homes into what critics call “digital cages.”
• Border czar Tom Homan has publicly endorsed the expansion as a cost-effective way to boost court attendance and enforce removal orders.