The Biden administration is planning to allow migrants to circumvent in-person check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and allow them to use an app instead, the New York Post reported on Friday.
The new tracking system is slated to begin via a pilot program in select cities and will allow millions of migrants released into the U.S. and awaiting their asylum hearings to check in with immigration officials on a computer or phone, sources familiar with the app told the outlet.
With ICE offices already underwater in many cities, sources told outlet that the digital check-in will make it easy for undocumented migrants to continue living a life of anonymity in the U.S.
"The thing has no enforcement around it and will have zero consequences when they don't check in," a source told the Post. "Totally half-baked, and massively undercuts enforcement."
The app already has been hit with glitches prior to its anticipated rollout. ICE had planned a press conference on Thursday to announce the launch but postponed the event due to an inability to handle the millions of anticipated users.
The app has also not been approved by the Apple store.
"It's such a s*** show," a source lamented after detailing that officials were able to enroll only 45 migrants out of hundreds due to technical issues.
The crisis of illegal immigration and the burden it places on municipalities will likely be a key issue in the upcoming presidential election.
In early June, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to shut down the southern border once illegal crossings reach 2,500 a day. The New York Post broke down how the numbers permitted through Biden's executive action, the written exceptions in the order, and the administration's parole program will still bring in almost 1.8 million migrants per year via various points of entry.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data indicate more than 7 million illegal border-crossers have been apprehended on the U.S. southern border since Biden took office.