Mitchell seeks answers on federal response to drop houses

U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine federal efforts to identify and remove criminal aliens in an effort to improve the government’s ability to combat drop houses that act as way stations for drugs and humans smuggled across the border.

Specifically, Mitchell asked the GAO to examine

• How Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allocates staff among its various interior enforcement responsibilities particularly with regard to alien smuggling and criminal alien removal

• What actions ICE has taken to identify staff needs and address staffing shortfalls related to alien smuggling and criminal alien removal activities.
• What actions ICE has taken to address previous GAO recommendations in these areas.

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