An expert witness will tell Congress Tuesday that nearly a million and a half illegal aliens, who have been ordered deported, are “roaming free” in the United States due to a lack of detention space.
Scott Mechkowski, who served at the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than 20 years and is now on the board of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE), will appear before Congress on Tuesday to warn lawmakers that more funding more detention space is crucial to carrying out President Donald Trump’s popular immigration agenda.
“ICE Detention Centers and Enforcement and Removal Operations are not optional — they are essential to the rule of law. Without them, our immigration system collapses into chaos,” Mechkowski will tell Congress in remarks shared exclusively with Breitbart News:
Detention is not punitive. It is a lawful tool to ensure compliance with immigration proceedings and final removal orders. Yet 1.4 million of those ordered removed still are roaming free, a population that drives the need for more bed space. [Emphasis added]
Over 60% of ICE’s detained population is held under mandatory detention laws—individuals with criminal records, flight risks, or national security concerns. These cases are not about politics; they are about public safety and the rule of law. [Emphasis added]
Data from NICE shows that even if Congress funded four times as much detention space, 98 percent of illegal aliens in the U.S. would be non-detained, suggesting that vastly more detention space is necessary to make a significant difference.
National Immigration Center for Enforcement
Perhaps most pertinent, Mechkowski is expected to undercut Democrats’ recent talking points where they accused the Trump administration of not giving illegal aliens eligible for deportation their “due process.”
“Let’s be clear: detention safeguards due process. It guarantees the alien appears in court, that their rights are respected, that they can access attorneys and families, and that removal orders — once lawful and final — can be carried out safely and responsibly,” Mechkowski’s testimony reads.
Data from NICE shows that even if Congress funded four times as much detention space, 98 percent of illegal aliens in the U.S. would be non-detained, suggesting that vastly more detention space is necessary to make a significant difference.
Mechkowski will also tell Congress that lawmakers can hugely expand ICE’s GPS monitoring of illegal aliens.
“Effective GPS monitoring, known as the ISAP program, is useful to ensure high-risk cases are able to be held in detention or when detention beds are fully utilized,” Mechkowski’s testimony states.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
