Because of a need to reduce finances in the jail systems at present, the Federal government is allowing hundreds of illegal immigrants to leave detention facilities today and go back to their families. According to the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, the individuals who are allowed to leave their detention centers have not been let off the hook. Instead they are simply being set free because of fiscal uncertainty regarding Friday's sequestration deadline. The immigrants that were in federal detention centers for their illegal status will be allowed to leave and the federals hope that this will help in the effort to reform budget spending demands. According to USA Today, some believe that the action was simply a way that the president has chosen to promote his budget plans. Some Republicans are angry about the action, saying that those who were released from detention facilities were criminals who will endanger American lives.

Others believe that the releases were beneficial and will help the government to maintain the ICE's current budget. According one ICE press secretary, the release did not mean that the government dripped deportation proceedings. Instead, the government is going to use other methods of detention and supervision to watch over the illegal immigrants and "several hundred" of the cases will not be dropped. Instead, the criminals will still be expected to arrive in court on their court dates for a hearing and if they are convicted of their crimes then they may still be sentenced to jail, prison, or deported back to their home countries. The ICE says that the immigrants were released solely out of fiscal concerns brought to light be the federal government in recent months. According to the ICE serious criminal offenders were not released from detention and anyone who posed a significant threat to public safety.

Sequestration is an $87 billion automatic spending cut that is supposed to go into effect Friday. The federal government released these immigrants in order to try and slice off some of the budget for this effort. This is a part of a 10-year-plan to reduce the debt of the United States to other nations by $1.2 trillion. President Obama has suggested tax hikes to avoid sequestration. Republicans say that sequestration hits the Department of Defense too heavily and may endanger national security. In Congress at present, Democrats and Republicans are negotiating on an immigration bill that may put the 11 million immigrants in the United States on a path to citizenship, but first the ICE will need to secure borders and make sure that all visitor visa laws are heavily enforced and visitors are closely monitored. While politicians work on this project, some believe that the ICE detention release evidences that the nation is not yet ready for immigration reform.

Advocates for immigration reform are thrilled about the detention facility releases. Some say that this proves that many of the immigrant detention facilities don't even need to be in existence. One immigration advocate told USA today that they shouldn't stop at releasing hundreds of immigrants instead the federal government should close down all immigration detention systems. Many advocates believe that if people have to report for a trial they should be able to spend time with their families, rather than in a detention facility, while they await their trial. The ICE is not letting those who were released from the detention facilities roam free They can decide whether or not they would like to be fitted with a non-removable ankle brace that monitors their whereabouts like a GPS, or they can be required to show up at an ICE office at regular intervals for probationary checkups. They can also be forced to routinely call an ICE official and update that individual on their status. If you want more information about this detention facility release or want to know how this affects you as an immigrant on trial for deportation, then you need to contact an attorney at a local immigration law firm today!