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The White House on Wednesday defended the idea of giving smartphones to illegal border crossers, to help them stay in touch with ICE officials.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki appeared indignant after Fox News reporter Peter Doocy questioned her about the program, detailed recently in their reporting.
“I think you, of all people, since you’ve asked me a range of questions on this topic over time, would recognize that we need to take steps to ensure that we know where individuals are and we can track, and we can check in with then,” she replied.
Psaki said the phones provided to migrants and border crossers were part of the administration’s “alternative to detention” program at the border.
There are nearly 180,000 undocumented immigrants in the United States being monitored with traceable devices, according to reports.
The phones, Psaki said, provided migrants the ability monitored by officials using “telephonic” technology — matching a voice print and requiring migrants to call once a week to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.