This summer, thousands of immigrant families were caught illegally crossing the Mexican border and released in the U.S. with instructions to report to immigration authorities within 15 days.
The Obama administration has taken great care to sidestep questions about whether the immigrants followed those instructions. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and other people from the Obama administration said that the immigrants had been deported.
A new report shows that tens of thousands of immigrants--70 percent of the ones ordered to report--did not meet with federal agents within 15 days, or at all, the Associated Press reported. They still remain on American soil.
In a recording obtained by the Associated Press, an unnamed official said that final deportation had been ordered for at least 860 people, but only 14 people showed up to report.
On the recording, the government did not specify the total number of families released into the U.S. since October. Since only a few hundred families have already been returned to their home countries and limited U.S. detention facilities can house only about 1,200 family members, the 70 percent figure suggests the government released roughly 41,000 members of immigrant families who subsequently failed to appear at federal immigration offices.
The Department of Homeland Security did not dispute the information in the recording, but repeatedly denied requests for the number of immigrant families caught and released, saying that either they did not know or did not have the figure handy.
"With this administration's failure to enforce our immigration laws, it is no surprise that 70 percent of the families released take their chances to stay here and don't show up for their follow-up appointments or court dates," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.) said.