"The watch represents an expansion of harmful detention practices," says Amy Gottlieb, associate regional director for the American Friends Service Committee. "These technologies cause documented negative health and mental health outcomes, including limiting people’s ability to provide for their families, due to the stigma associated with being surveilled."
ICE, whose headquarters for the Colorado and Wyoming region are in Centennial, unveiled the device, which is shaped like an oversized Apple Watch, at a stakeholder meeting on April 24.
According to an ICE announcement of this pilot program, "These wrist-worn GPS monitoring devices would supplement existing ATD capabilities for noncitizens who qualify for the non-detained docket in a less obtrusive manner, increasing compliance for participants moving through the immigration process."
“The wrist-based device is an additional option introduced as part of the (Alternative to Detention) program, instituted over eighteen years ago,” Steve Kotecki, an ICE spokesman, tells Westword.
But immigration advocacy leaders such as Gottlieb contend that the device creates an unnecessary amount of surveillance and puts a detainee in the uncomfortable position of having to explain it to employers.
"The first thing people worry about is being asked what this watch is for," says Jennifer Piper, a spokesperson for the American Friends Service Committee. "There's a lot of stigma, unfortunately, against people who have ankle monitors or this type of device.
"Employers may worry they have something more serious going on than an immigration case," she adds.
The watches are made by forty-year-old, Colorado-based company Behavioral Interventions Incorporated, or BI Inc., which boasts that it makes more than 200,000 "GPS tracking, alcohol detection and [Radio Frequency] monitoring" devices annually. The product ICE is testing out is called the BiVeriWatch,
Since the launch of the pilot program last week, advocates have called on President Joe Biden and other federal officials to stop the pilot program.
Gottlieb says that Department of Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas "must halt the pilot." Andrea Loya of Casa de Paz, which reunites families separated by ICE detention, sent a statement that "President Biden must halt this pilot" and that ICE's contracts should be used for alternatives to detention.
"Congress and ICE throw away millions every year contracting with for-profit organizations instead of investing in humane and effective ways to streamline our process to welcome others," Loya wrote.
"What does it mean that the government is placing more restrictive measures on them?" asks Piper. "Why do they need to know where someone is every second of the day?"
Most immigrant detainees have a record of showing up for court dates when they're supposed to, says Laura Lunn, director of the Advocacy and Litigation for Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.
“Immigrants overwhelmingly appear in court, including those not enrolled in surveillance programs and those that lack an attorney," she adds. "When people have access to counsel and case support through a non-profit like ours, the rate of appearance is over 98 percent. Our tax dollars should go to effective, low-cost programs designed to provide due process and integration services."
Congress approved $442.7 million for ICE to use to fund alternatives to detainment, and AFSC reports that most of that money went toward its contract with BI Inc.
Congress approved $442.7 million for ICE to use to fund alternatives to detainment, and AFSC reports that most of that money went toward its contract with BI Inc.
"It feels ominous," Piper says. "It feels like an invasion of their privacy, and what is the incentive to comply if they're just going to issue more intrusive technologies?"
