Dept. of Homeland Security lost track of 177,000 migrants over 17-month period, internal watchdog says

The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog said the agency lost track of 177,000 migrants over a 17-month period beginning in 2021 and ending in 2022, NBC News reported.

The news network reported that both Democrat and Republican administrations have released into the U.S. migrants with immigration court dates due to overcrowding in immigration detention facilities and policies limiting the detention of children.

The Biden administration in March 2021 began to release migrants without court dates but with notices to report to an ICE office within 60 days, NBC News said, adding that the inspector general’s investigation found that more than 25,000 of almost 100,000 migrants released with a notice to report to ICE were missing addresses in their files.

The inspector general found in a previous report that 29% of migrants released with a notice to report to ICE did not do so within the required 60-day period, the news network added.