DHS Does Not Have Assurance That All Migrants Can be Located Once Released into the United States (REDACTED)

Date Issued

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Submitting OIG

Department of Homeland Security OIG

Other Participating OIGs

Department of Homeland Security OIG

Agencies Reviewed/Investigated

Department of Homeland Security

Components

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Report Number

OIG-23-47

Report Description

The Department of Homeland Security has limited ability to track migrants’ post-release addresses accurately and effectively. U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) cannot always obtain and does not always record migrant addresses, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not always validate migrant addresses prior to migrant release into the United States.

Report Type

Audit

Agency Wide

Yes

Number of Recommendations

Questioned Costs

Funds for Better Use

Open Recommendations

This report has 2 open recommendations.

Recommendation Number	Significant Recommendation	Recommended Questioned Costs	Recommended Funds for Better Use
2	No	$0	$0
We recommend the Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement establish a policy for ICE field personnel to validate migrant addresses and to elevate address concerns, such as recurring or invalid migrant release addresses, recorded into U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE systems.
3	No	$0	$0
We recommend the Executive Associate Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations analyze migrant U.S. release address data on a recurring basis to identify trends, such as recurring and uninhabitable addresses, and share known address concerns with U.S. Border Patrol.