The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered agents to place GPS-enabled ankle bracelets to detect citizens potentially at risk of deportation.
In a memorandum published by The Washington Post, the agency ordered the placement of the geolocation device on people enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) Program “whenever possible.”
This program includes 183,000 adult migrants who have agreed to some form of mandatory monitoring or registration of their immigration cases.
Currently, 24,000 people use this device, according to the newspaper.
Dawnisha M. Helland, acting deputy director of ICE’s Non-Detainee Records Management Division, stated in the memorandum that pregnant women would be an exception.
Such women would be fitted with tracking devices on their wrists, the agency clarified.
