ICE testing new monitoring program on migrant youth in Denver

DENVER — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is launching a new monitoring program for teenage migrants in Denver and other cities across the country. Immigrant rights advocates told Denver7 they’re worried about the program’s approach and the company hired to run it.

The Young Adult Case Management Program (YACMP) is intended to keep 18 and 19-year-olds “who pose a low flight risk” out of detention while they navigate their court hearings by connecting them with community services, according to an ICE description of the program.

YACMP is one of ICE’s new monitoring programs considered an “alternative to detention.” But unlike other surveillance programs recently launched in Denver, YACMP is specifically for young adults.

“What’s really hard about this program is that it’s putting its finger on an actual problem, which is that youth are uniquely vulnerable and in need of services. But it really is providing the wrong solution,” said Azadeh Erfani, a senior policy analyst with the National Immigrant Justice Center, which partnered with the Women’s Refugee Commission and Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights to examine the program.

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