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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ended a COVID-era program that granted hundreds of free minutes of video calls to illegal immigrants, Fox News Digital has learned – a move that is estimated to save taxpayers more than $10 million a year.
The federal agency began offering illegal immigrants in custody 520 minutes of free domestic and international phone and video calls per month in May 2020 due to the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic and visitation restrictions that were implemented as a consequence. The cost of the program is $10.2 million a year.
The public health emergency for the pandemic ended in May 2023, but the program remained in effect even as in-person visitation has resumed with the ending of social distancing requirements.
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June 2, 2022: ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior. ((Immigration and Customs Enforcement))
ICE says that while it continued the program until it started winding down throughout June of this year, cost-saving measures have since become a priority due to other resources needed at the southern border.
“Individuals in detention still have access to facility Wi-Fi to make telephone and video calls to contact their attorneys and families and may also make calls at their own expense [using] facility telephones and video tablets as available,” an ICE official said.
The agency also said that if it is given appropriate resources by Congress, it could continue to allow free calls in the future.
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ICE has had the policy in place since May 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Getty Images)
“Although ICE is grateful for the fiscal year 2024 appropriations it received from Congress, current funding is insufficient to maintain operational readiness on multiple fronts while offering free calls, which cost…
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