The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed it is using “every tool” at its disposal to address the flow of migrants fleeing hostile and unstable conditions in their home countries and coming to the United States’s southern border. Despite these assurances, however, it is clear some key enforcement tools are being underutilized.

Perhaps most notable is monitoring technology for certain immigrants that is not only readily available but has also been authorized and funded by Congress — no small feat given the highly contentious nature of almost all policies related to the border and immigration.

Monitoring technology is most readily used through the “Alternatives to Detention” program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ATDs are policies that allow for qualified immigrants to be released from detention provided they are monitored through various uses of technology, such as GPS monitoring through ankle or wrist monitors, while their immigration cases are pending.

These tracking programs boast an impressive 98% reporting and supervision compliance rate. As I’ve written, the success rates are impressive: Between August 2021 and May 2022, 99.6% of participants attended required meetings with their case specialists, and 99.3% attended all their required immigration court hearings.

Tracking and monitoring through technology have been successful for two reasons. First, qualifications for participants include lack of any criminal history, track record of compliance, and community and family ties. Second, the opportunity for participants to live in their local community, many of whom are refugees and people lawfully requesting asylum, have a powerful incentive to comply while their cases make their way through the legal system.

Even restrictionist organizations acknowledge monitoring as a helpful tool. A report released recently by the Heritage Foundation, for example, confirmed that GPS tracking is the most effective way to keep track of immigrants and guarantee compliance with court appearances and proceedings.

So why is the number of immigrants enrolled in this program decreasing?

At the same time, border officials in May reported the release of more than 6,000 immigrants with no way of keeping track of them. Monitoring technology could go a long way toward addressing this problem, yet it is used with fewer than 5,000 immigrants despite its clear effectiveness and cost efficiency when compared to detention and other alternative programs.

As a child of immigrants, I have some understanding of the complicated morass that effectively chokes legal immigration and hurts the country in myriad ways. Immigration expert David Bier summed it up best : “Legal immigration is less like waiting in line and more like winning the lottery: It happens, but it is so rare that it is irrational to expect it in any individual case.” Bier’s startling graphic drives home this point.

The vast majority of people attempting to migrate are the same as they’ve been throughout American history: people wanting to escape dangerous circumstances and a lack of economic opportunities to make a better life for their children.

Americans recognize this reality. Sixty-eight percent of the public knows that immigration is good for the country, and a majority of people want immigration levels kept the same or increased.

Constructive reform must begin with the recognition that a streamlined and modernized process for legal immigration is by far the most important factor for addressing both our security needs and for citizens to continue benefiting from the economic activity generated by immigrants . And addressing the lack of proper, functioning legal channels will result in less chaos, less illegality, and less tragedy .

For its part, the Biden administration should actually use “every tool” at its disposal. Monitoring technology helps diminish the chaotic processes that generate hyperbolic headlines and reactionary bawls from other quarters. The Biden administration would be wise to use them effectively.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA

Mario H. Lopez is the president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, a public policy advocacy organization that promotes liberty, opportunity, and prosperity for all Americans.