The issue of illegal immigrants is a very Hot Topic in this years presidential elections. There are approximately 12 million illegal mostly Hispanic illegal immigrants living and working in the United States.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's Scheduled Departure program is set to run through August 22 in five US cities. The program offers fugitive illegal immigrants with no criminal history up to 90 days to leave the United States, during when they can stay out of jail.
Reports indicate that there are about 457,000 non-criminal fugitive aliens.With the new program,they now have an alternative to having us basically track them down, arrest and remove them on the government's terms.
The pilot program will run in the cities of Phoenix, Chicago, Charlotte, North Carolina, and San Diego and Santa Ana in California. Officials say that the program may be expanded in future to cater for other Bigger cities.
ICE has nabbed more than 26,000 fugitives in stepped-up workplace raids in the last ten months. Human Right's activists have criticized by some immigration activists for breaking up families.
According to the ICE, the program is beneficial particularly to fugitives with families because it allows them to make deportation arrangements without being held in prison.
The ICE says that illegal immigrants must report to the police or wear an electronic monitoring device while making their travel arrangements while making their travel arrangements.
Source Reuters
