More Than 5% Of Migrants Detained During Trump Admin Freed From Custody Through 'Catch And Release'

The Donald Trump administration has freed hundreds of migrants from custody through the "catch and release" program, partially given a lack of space to hold them, Axios reported on Thursday.

The outlet detailed that nonviolent undocumented immigrants who were detained were later released after agreeing to appear before an immigration court. They are usually given wristbands or ankle monitors so law enforcement keeps track of them. They can also be told to check in by phone as authorities before their court dates.

The figure represents 6% of all detainees under the Trump administration since Jan. 21, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, told Axios. "They do not have final deportation orders and are likely contesting their immigration status," she added.

CBS News reported this week that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already exceeded capacity in its detention centers. It was holding about 42,000 people on Tuesday morning, 9% more than the some 38,500 it has across the country, distributed in for-profit prisons and county jails.

ICE acknowledged some releases back then, saying its "enhanced" operations have resulted in a "significant number of arrests of criminal aliens that require greater detention capacity."

"We are exploring every solution including working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and our state and local law enforcement partners, asking Congress for increased funding, and scrutinizing case files to quickly remove criminal aliens with executable final orders of removal from Department of Justice immigration judges," ICE said in a statement to the outlet.

Some migrants are being detained for weeks (in some case months) before ICE gets all paperwork necessary to deport them. In this context, the Trump administration is planning to largely expand detention capacity. It's already eyeing 14 new detention center that could hold up to 1,000 people each, as well as four larger facilities with a 10,000-bed capacity.

The agency is also seeking for other departments to join in the effort, with the Department of Defense authorizing the detention of migrants at a base in Colorado. The most high-profile effort, however, is the conditioning of a facility in Guantanamo Bay, which Trump claimed can hold up to 30,000 people. The president said those targeted are migrants living unlawfully in the U.S. but cannot be deported to their home countries.

The first plane carrying migrants has already arrived in Guantanamo, with CBP posting a short video on social media showing images of it with the caption "the worst of the worst have no place in our homeland."

The Associated Press detailed that there are currently some 300 service members tasked with operating facilities in Guantanamo Bay, and that figures will vary depending on the needs at a given time.