ICE warns Laken Riley Act could force it to release detained migrants

Driving the news: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent details to congressional offices in December on what they would need to enforce the Laken Riley Act if it became law, according to a copy of the report obtained by Axios.

• ICE warned that without emergency funding, they could be forced to release tens of thousands of immigrants — including potentially some deemed to be public safety threats.

Zoom in: The agency identified more than 60,000 undocumented immigrants who would meet the criteria requiring detainment in the bill.

• ICE currently only has funding for 42,000 detention beds. They already have 39,000 immigrants in custody, as of December, with 62% of them required to be detained by law.
• Over the weekend, ICE told Congressional offices that of the nearly 67,000 undocumented immigrants who would meet the Laken Riley Act criteria for detention — more than 59,000 have final orders of removal.

Between the lines: The Laken Riley Act does not include money for enforcing the new detention requirements.

• ICE said it would need more that $3.2 billion in extra funds for the 2025 fiscal year if the bill became law, according to the document.
• The money would go toward an additional 64,000 beds — bringing the total to more than 100,000 — as well as hiring more law enforcement officers.

What they're saying: "We're prepared to give ICE the resources it needs to properly enforce federal law and protect American families, both through the appropriations and reconciliation processes," Sean Ross, deputy chief of staff for Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) told Axios.

• Britt introduced the legislation in the Senate.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional reporting.