Former Chief: If ICE Hits Capacity, ‘We’ve Lost' the Border

Then-ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan at the National Press Club at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies, on June 5, 2018. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—As the southern border becomes more and more overwhelmed, with thousands of people entering illegally every day, detention space is tight.

The Defense Department (DOD) is scrambling to build more space for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, before Homeland Security is forced to release single adults, not just family units. In many cases, if Border Patrol doesn’t find a criminal record, it will release families within 72 hours of crossing the border.