Some immigrants arrested last week have been released back into the U.S. on a monitoring program due to space constraints and court orders, reported NBC News.
The report comes as President Donald Trump is set to test the limits of his immigration crackdown by invoking a wartime law to deport immigrants alleged to be gang members without court hearings, a broad authority that could supercharge his mass deportation push and potentially sweep in people not charged with crimes.
Trump during his campaign promised to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Last week, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement stepped up arrests, picking up about 1,000 people per day. Some were sent back to their countries.
But those not deported for myriad reasons have been released by ICE and placed on a monitoring program known as Alternatives to Detention because federal court cases limit the agency from detaining people indefinitely if their countries refuse to take them back.
ICE monitors their whereabouts by ankle monitors or wrist bands or through telephonic check-ins.
"The agency's federal law enforcement officers do everything they can to keep our communities safe," a spokesperson with ICE told NBC. "In some cases, ICE is required to release certain arrested aliens from custody."