WASHINGTON, May 17 (UPI) -- President Bush's call Monday night for beefed-up border security with Mexico will boost burdens at the DHS.
Various elements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will work with the Department of Defense to maintain the U.S.-Mexico divide, officials said Tuesday, as details about the president's border control initiative emerged.
The DHS will be charged with expanding U.S.-run centers for detaining illegal immigrants to fill 4,000 more beds by the end of fiscal 2006, said Julie Myers, assistant secretary of the department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau. She added that officials might have to "use them more creatively" to handle the influx of detainees.
Some of the extra beds will be added at existing facilities, where contracts are already in place, meaning those contracts could be expanded. However, new facilities may be constructed in order to handle the detainee population, Govexec.com reported.
The call for expanded detention centers comes as part of President George W. Bush's move to end the "catch and release" method of controlling illegal immigration, where apprehended illegal immigrants are released rather than detained, and expected to return for deportation hearings. In his televised address, Bush said the majority of those released never arrive for their day in court. He also is seeking an expedited legal process to cut the time of the average deportation process, GovExec.com said.
Myers said ICE agents will become more aggressive in targeting those who employ illegal immigrants. Many such employers also are involved in other criminal conspiracies, she said.
