The Claim: Biden Administration Spending Americans’ Tax Money to Give Smartphones to Undocumented Immigrants
Republicans have not been shy about Attacking President Joe Biden for being soft on immigrationand a claim circulating on social media adds to the chorus with a claim about free mobile phones.
“Waste: Biden admin spent his tax money to give cell phones to illegal immigrants,” says an image posted on Facebook on April 18 that accumulated more than 1,300 shares in four days.
But the statement is misleading.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, issues smartphones with a preloaded app to some undocumented immigrants to ensure compliance with release stipulations. But phones can only be used to access the app; they cannot access the Internet, load other applications, or make calls. And its use dates back to the Trump administration.
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USA TODAY reached out to the page that posted the claim for comment, and their response did not question the length of the show or the limited nature of cell phones.
Phones come with tracking app, no other capabilities
The phones are used as part of ICE’s Alternatives to Detention program, which started in 2004 and uses technology to “ensure compliance with non-citizens’ conditions of release, court hearings, and final orders of removal,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY.
But the devices have all other typical phone features disabled, so the phones are “only limited to the features assigned for the purpose of participating in” the detention program, according to the release.
Deportation officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations may consider factors such as a person’s immigration and criminal history, family or community ties, status as a caregiver or provider, or medical considerations in determining whether to enroll in the program. , according to ICE. Technologies that can be assigned to participants include GPS tracking, phone reporting, and the SmartLINK app.
Program participants who are assigned to the SmartLINK option and have their own smartphones can download the app to their personal devices. Those without smartphones will receive one from the agency.
“The device is locked and cannot be used other than through the SmartLINK app,” the statement said.
ICE said the SmartLINK app sends push notifications and reminders for upcoming appointments; provides a database for participants to find food banks, clothing or other community services; and allows users to upload and send documents to their case specialists.
If a participant is reassigned to a different level of supervision or completes the detention program, the device is returned to the agency, the agency said.
Application in use since the Trump administration
The publication attributes the program to the Biden administration, but the SmartLINK app has been used since 2018. during the administration of President Donald Trump. About 75% of noncitizens enrolled in the detention program use SmartLINK, the agency said.
The Associated Press reported in March that its use skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jumped from 5,000 in 2019 to 150,000 this year.
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The average daily cost per participant in the detention program is about $7.29, the agency said, adding that the cost represents “all technologies used and other overhead costs.”
ICE has an annual budget of $8 billion, funded through the Department of Homeland Security, according to your website.
Our Rating: Missing Context
Based on our research, we rate the claim that the Biden administration spends Americans’ tax dollars to give cell phones to undocumented immigrants as LACK OF CONTEXT. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issues smartphones with a preloaded app to undocumented immigrants in some cases, but the program has been around since before Biden took office and smartphones can only be used to access the app.
Our data verification sources:
- Department of Homeland Security, accessed April 26, Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Summary
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement, accessed April 26, About us
- The GEO Group, accessed April 26, ICE processing centers operated by The GEO Group on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- Immigration and Customs EnforcementApril 22, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- THE TIME, April 18, US Officials Deploy Technology to Track Over 200,000 Immigrants, Sparking New Privacy Lawsuit
- PolitiFact, April 14, Claim about smartphones given to immigrants misses key context: used to track
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement, April 13, detention management
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement, April 9, Active ATD Participants and Average Duration in the Program
- The White House, April 8, Press conference by press secretary Jen Psaki
- Associated Press, March 10, Deportation Agents Use Smartphone App to Monitor Immigrants
- PolitiFact, April 17, 2013, Immigrants would get free cellphones under new proposal, bloggers say
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Reference-www.usatoday.com