ICE Ends Costly Programs Offering Services to Illegal Immigrants Over ‘Budget Concerns’

In a move that signals a shift in priorities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced the termination of two programs aimed at providing social services to illegal immigrants, citing unsustainable costs and misalignment with the agency’s core mission.

One of the discontinued programs, the Wraparound Stabilization Service (WSS), was designed to offer psychosocial and behavioral health support for migrants. However, ICE noted that the program showed minimal effectiveness, with only a 2% improvement in compliance rates compared to those not receiving services. Describing the program as “immensely cost with little improvement,” ICE ended referrals in July.

The second program, the Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP), targeted 18- and 19-year-old migrants, offering legal services and human trafficking screenings. ICE opted not to renew the program’s contract, citing fiscal constraints and its failure to align with the agency’s enforcement priorities.

‘Immense Cost With Little Improvement’

These changes come amid significant pressure to address an overwhelming caseload, as ICE’s non-detained docket now includes nearly 7.7 million individuals. While approximately 181,000 are monitored under the “Alternatives to Detention” program, the agency’s limited resources—only about 40,000 detention beds—have prompted closer scrutiny of its expenditures.

Critics of the programs, like Lora Ries of the Heritage Foundation, welcomed the decision, calling such initiatives “a boondoggle” and urging further cuts. Ries emphasized redirecting resources toward detention and deportation efforts to fulfill ICE’s primary mission.

Conservatives responded to the information provided to lawmakers by calling on the new administration to scrap even more programs providing services for illegal immigrants.

“ICE is a law enforcement agency, not a charity. The billions of dollars DHS has wasted to bring millions of illegal aliens into the country and provide them excessive amenities should be redirected to getting every illegal alien safely back to their home country,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital.

Ries called the services a “boondoggle” and said “there are several other similar initiatives that must meet the same fate under President Trump.” 

“Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars in conflict with an agency mission, we should see a massive increase in resources for detaining and deporting illegal aliens. If you don’t support the agency’s mission, you shouldn’t get a dime,” she said.

As the incoming Trump administration plans a more aggressive stance on immigration enforcement, these terminations could signal broader reforms aimed at tightening border security and reducing costs associated with unauthorized migration.

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