Negotiators consider expanding expedited deportations as border talks near 'finish line'
Both sides say they are making progress and are discussing expanding the Family Expedited Removal Management process to track and deport migrants who cross illegally.
WASHINGTON — Some small signs of agreement in bipartisan border security negotiations are emerging, including new progress on plans to closely track and rapidly deport more migrants who cross illegally, according to a U.S. official familiar with the Biden administration’s point of view and a Republican senator briefed on the negotiations.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is engaged in the bipartisan discussions but is not part of the main negotiating group, confirmed to NBC News that expanding the tracking and expedited removal of migrants is “one of the open areas of discussion.”
The idea being discussed is an expansion of a program already in place to track migrant families, known as Family Expedited Removal Management, or FERM, which places ankle bracelets on the heads of household, implements a curfew for all family members and requires migrants to be tracked until their court hearings. If they are determined not to qualify for asylum, they are prioritized for fast deportation under the program.
The U.S. official said the Biden administration favors the idea and has already begun to expand FERM to more locations.
FERM provides an “alternative to detention” rather than keeping families in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the official said, and it could be extended to monitor other migrants beyond family groups. However, the expansion would require more funding for ICE officers to oversee the monitoring and deportations, the official said.
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