CBP and ICE Did Not Have an Effective Process for Detaining and Removing Inadmissible Travelers at an International Airport (REDACTED)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) International Airport office in , and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) office did not have an effective process for detaining and removing inadmissible travelers. Between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, CBP We conducted this evaluation to assess whether CBP and ICE have an effective process for detaining and removing inadmissible travelers arriving at . What We Recommend We made three recommendations to ensure CBP and ICE effectively detain and remove inadmissible travelers and issue NTAs to inadmissible travelers who do not return for removal flights. For Further Information: Contact our Office of Public Affairs at (202) 981-6000, or email us at: DHS-OIG.OfficePublicAffairs@oig.dhs.gov. released at least 383 inadmissible travelers from custody; 168 (44 percent) of these travelers did not return for their removal flights. ICE leadership stated they deny CBP overnight detention requests for inadmissible travelers before removal flights because of staffing and bed space limitations. In addition, CBP does not have enough overtime funds to pay officers to detain inadmissible travelers at the airport after operating hours. Further, CBP described difficulties transferring inadmissible travelers to another airport because they must receive permission from the airline and the other airport’s CBP office and overcome other logistical issues.