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| Immigrants Get Bracelets Instead of Jail |
| By Iran Times International |
| Published: 11/01/2004 |
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Faced with the possibility of clogging U.S. jails with people whose only crime is to enter the U.S. illegally in search of a better future for themselves and their families, immigration officials are searching for alternate ways to monitor the immigrants' whereabouts. The U.S. immigration agency is experimenting with ankle bracelets and other gizmos to track their clients. It's just an experiment in eight cities right now, and it's open only to those whose sole alleged crime is being in the United States illegally. Those accused of other crimes are still doing jail time. About 500 illegals are being monitored in the tests with ankle bracelets, telephone voice recognition systems and surprise visits. The eight cities are Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Portland, Oregon. The goal is to allow the aliens to go free and get on with their lives during the many months they often have to wait for a hearing before an immigration judge. The program could save the immigration agency lots of money as well since jails are costly. There are currently 21,000 illegal immigrants in jail at a cost of $550 million a year. Immigration officials say that so far only eight people have skipped out from under the monitors, and five of them have already been nabbed. The program is managed by a private firm. Some of those in the program wear transmitters on their ankles that allow the company to monitor their whereabouts to their home phone. Others are told to check in with the company by phone to a computerized voice recognition system. And staff also makes unannounced visits to aliens' homes and workplaces. |
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