Immigration Court: Prison Contractor and Government Officials

immigration court: Government officials say the devices are effective in getting people to show up to immigration court, but that they stop working once deportation proceedings begin, according to CTV. The reason, according to attorneys and people who wore the devices or helped monitor those wearing them Some immigrants simply ditch them and disappear. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is issuing thousands of 5.5-ounce 155-gram ankle monitors that immigrants call grilletes, or electronic shackles, spelling big profits for GEO Group, the country's second largest private prison contractor. Immigrant advocates and legal experts argue, meanwhile, that the devices -- which are commonly used for criminal parolees -- are inappropriate and inhumane for people seeking U.S. asylum. Congress first established the program in 2002, though GPS monitors grew more common as deportations rose to record levels under President Barack Obama's administration, averaging more than 385,000 annually from 2008-2012. The American Bar Association has called doing so a form of restriction on liberty similar to detention, rather than a meaningful alternative to detention. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.