US Lawmaker Sounds Alarm Over Plan to Hire Bounty Hunters to Track Down Undocumented Immigrants
A US congressman has expressed "grave concerns" over a plan by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to award monetary bonuses to private bounty hunters in an effort to track down undocumented immigrants. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, wrote a letter to the DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stating that this outsourcing proposal raises worrying questions about accountability.
Under the plan, ICE would contract with companies interested in providing "skip tracing" services to deploy private investigators to track down immigrants living inside the US. These bounty hunters would be tasked with conducting surveillance and identifying the home addresses of undocumented individuals. They could earn bonuses based on how many immigrants they help apprehend and how quickly.
Krishnamoorthi is alarmed by the lack of oversight and accountability in this system, which he believes could lead to abuses and corruption. "Allowing private contractors to perform enforcement activities under a system of performance-based financial incentives essentially bounty hunting, outsources one of the government's most coercive powers to actors who operate with little oversight and limited public accountability," he writes.
Krishnamoorthi fears that this plan would further blur the line between federal authority and the private sector, introducing corporate profit motive into the government's chaotic domestic immigration operations. "In such a system built on quotas and cash rewards with minimal oversight, mistakes are not just possible - they are certain," he notes. The pressure to hit numbers replaces the judgment, training, and accountability that should define real law enforcement.
ICE has refused to comment on Krishnamoorthi's concerns, stating that the plan is purely for information-gathering purposes and does not constitute a formal request for proposal. However, the congressman is demanding clarification on how this system would work, including whether contractors will be required to identify themselves as agents of the federal government.
A US congressman has expressed "grave concerns" over a plan by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to award monetary bonuses to private bounty hunters in an effort to track down undocumented immigrants. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, wrote a letter to the DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stating that this outsourcing proposal raises worrying questions about accountability.
Under the plan, ICE would contract with companies interested in providing "skip tracing" services to deploy private investigators to track down immigrants living inside the US. These bounty hunters would be tasked with conducting surveillance and identifying the home addresses of undocumented individuals. They could earn bonuses based on how many immigrants they help apprehend and how quickly.
Krishnamoorthi is alarmed by the lack of oversight and accountability in this system, which he believes could lead to abuses and corruption. "Allowing private contractors to perform enforcement activities under a system of performance-based financial incentives essentially bounty hunting, outsources one of the government's most coercive powers to actors who operate with little oversight and limited public accountability," he writes.
Krishnamoorthi fears that this plan would further blur the line between federal authority and the private sector, introducing corporate profit motive into the government's chaotic domestic immigration operations. "In such a system built on quotas and cash rewards with minimal oversight, mistakes are not just possible - they are certain," he notes. The pressure to hit numbers replaces the judgment, training, and accountability that should define real law enforcement.
ICE has refused to comment on Krishnamoorthi's concerns, stating that the plan is purely for information-gathering purposes and does not constitute a formal request for proposal. However, the congressman is demanding clarification on how this system would work, including whether contractors will be required to identify themselves as agents of the federal government.
It seems like we're playing with fire here. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton 
... I mean, what's the point of giving these guys cash bonuses for catching undocumented immigrants? It's like they're saying "hey, we don't trust our own agents with this job, so let's hire some private contractors and hope for the best"... Newsflash: that never ends well 
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. we gotta make sure we're not compromising the integrity of our justice system just to save a buck 
. and what about the poor immigrants who are already living in fear of being caught and deported? this plan would only add more stress and anxiety to their lives 
. i'm all for finding ways to streamline our immigration process, but we gotta do it in a way that doesn't put people's lives at risk 
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That's not accountability, that's just good old-fashioned profiteering.
. It's like they're outsourcing the problem instead of solving it 
. I'm all for making things more efficient, but when you start giving people financial incentives to do something as complex and nuanced as tracking down undocumented immigrants, you open yourself up to a whole lot of potential problems 
.
. Otherwise, we're just playing with fire 
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. If these contractors are operating with little oversight, we risk seeing a situation where profit trumps public safety 
. We need more transparency and accountability in this system, or else it could lead to serious abuses 
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... like, what if these bounty hunters start messing up and harming innocent people? My ex was in the wrong place at the wrong time during his deportation process and he almost got hurt 
... it's not right that politicians are just sitting back and doing nothing about it. I know we need stricter immigration laws, but this is just crazy 
... what if these bounty hunters start working for private companies that have no qualms about exploiting people? It's like they're giving the government a license to bully people who can't even fight back 
...
This whole thing just smells of abuse and corruption, fam 
we gotta keep law enforcement inhouse not outsourced 2 private companies 
- this plan sounds like it's gonna lead to some serious accountability issues 
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by ICE. They're trying to say they're doing what's best for the country, but really they're just looking out for their own interests 
. And what's next? Private investigators tracking down people who don't show up to jury duty? It's a slippery slope, folks... 
I mean, would it really be so bad if some contractors got a little bonus for helping track down those undocumented immigrants... as long as they're not gonna mess up the whole system in the process? 
Oh yeah, accountability. That's what Krishnamoorthi is really worried about, right? But maybe he's just being too cautious? I mean, ICE has been doing this stuff for years without any major issues... or so we think 
. Still, I guess it's better to err on the side of caution and have some oversight in place. That way, even if there are some shady characters involved, they can be held accountable... probably? 
I want to know what's in this proposal and why ICE is pushing for it. This feels like a recipe for disaster!