Asylum seekers in US sue over ICE requiring more tracking devices

A group of migrants seeking US asylum or visas is suing over a new Trump administration policy requiring them to wear tracking monitors as an alternative to detention, claiming the measure is causing unnecessary harm to people trying to remain in the country legally.

As a result of the new rule, the number of released migrants wearing electronic ankle and wrist bracelets has surged from about 23,000 in late 2024 to almost 50,000 now, according to government data cited in a lawsuit last week in Washington federal court.

Previously, devices were used only in special cases where escalated supervision was necessary.

There is no need for a blanket, “draconian” rule requiring more people to wear the devices, according to the complaint.

The five migrants who sued said they had already been regularly checking in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while their asylum or visa requests are considered, but have suffered various harms from the new requirement, including lost jobs and income.

“All of our plaintiffs were contributing to their communities, and doing their best to follow the conditions assigned to them,” said Lauren Hodges, a senior attorney for the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which helped file the suit.

“Several of them were working lawfully and with authorisation, and all are seeking immigration relief lawfully.”

One plaintiff claimed she lost her job working as a cleaner because customers did not want to see an employee with an ankle monitor, according to the suit.

Another said she lost income when a malfunctioning monitor forced her to miss work to comply with increased ICE reporting requirements.

Another claimed she had to stop breastfeeding her infant because the monitor caused her severe pain, high blood pressure and depression.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was named as a defendant along with ICE, issued a statement saying that “illegal aliens – just like US citizens – are subject to the legal system and may be subject to release conditions that include ankle or wrist-worn GPS technology”.

Under the US government’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programme, adult migrants can be released from DHS custody while they are “generally in removal proceedings or subject to a final order of removal”, according to the ICE website.

Participants are vetted by immigration officers who review additional factors including criminal history, ties to the community and medical considerations.

About 98 per cent show up for their scheduled court hearings, data show.

About 180,000 are enrolled in the ATD programme, a figure that has been little changed in the past two years, government data show.

Before the new monitoring policy was imposed, most were checking in with the authorities using a phone app.

Since then, the number with ankle and wrist monitors has surged, while that for those using the app has declined, though phone check-ins remain the most common way for ICE to monitor enrollees, data show.

Imposing escalated electronic monitoring was the result of an internal memorandum by an ICE official rather than a normal rulemaking procedure, leading to a “draconian, blanket requirement” that was arbitrary and capricious, according to the lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status on behalf of other migrants.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs said the new policy provided a financial boost to GEO Group, a private prison operator that was hired by the government to run detention centres and is expanding its capacity for electronic monitoring services. The company is not a defendant in the suit.

In a call with investors in 2025, GEO executives said the company had been on an ankle monitor buying spree in anticipation of a shift in ICE policy to increase use of the devices for migrants enrolled in the ATD programme.

The company provides a separate service allowing migrants to check in with ICE via a phone application known as SmartLINK.

The physical monitors are GEO’s highest-margin business, according to its executives.

Government data shows the SmartLINK application costs ICE less than US$1 (S$1.30) a day, compared with more than US$2 for ankle monitors.

GEO Group did not return a request for comment.

The plaintiffs are asking for the new rule to be thrown out, and for individual assessments to determine whether electronic monitoring is appropriate.

The case is M.O. v. Helland, 26-cv-2279, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). BLOOMBERG