Duval Times

Senator Rick Scott has collaborated with Senator Bill Hagerty and their colleagues to propose the Reshape Alternatives to Detention (ATD) Act. This legislation aims to address the Biden Administration's alleged misuse of ATD by mandating that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) exhaust all available detention facilities before resorting to ATD. It also ensures that undocumented immigrants on the non-detained docket are enrolled in ATD and GPS monitoring throughout their immigration proceedings.

Joining Senators Scott and Hagerty are Senators Marsha Blackburn, Ted Cruz, Steve Daines, Roger Marshall, and JD Vance. Representative Byron Donalds has introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The senators argue that instead of prioritizing American safety by requiring GPS monitoring for every undocumented immigrant who cannot be detained, President Joe Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas are catering to groups advocating for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They accuse these officials of trying to transform ATD into a social services program through initiatives like the Case Management Pilot Program (CMPP) and Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP).

The senators also claim that Biden's DHS has adopted a practice of briefly monitoring undocumented immigrants after they enter the U.S. illegally before allowing them to move freely within the country. They highlight the case of Mohammad Kharwin, an Afghan national on the terrorist watch list who was subject to GPS monitoring for just over two weeks before being removed from ATD. He then spent 10 months in the U.S. without any surveillance.

As of January 27, 2024, only 189,780 individuals were enrolled in the ATD Program, with even fewer—36,931 individuals—occupying ICE detention beds. Meanwhile, under Biden's administration, nearly seven million people have been added to the non-detained docket.

The proposed Reshape Alternatives to Detention Act would terminate and defund Biden's CMPP & YACMP, transferring all funding to additional detention beds. It would also require the DHS Secretary to fill all available detention beds before using ATD and reaffirm that ICE has complete authority over aliens on the non-detained docket, among other provisions.

The full text of the Reshape Alternatives to Detention Act can be found here.