Homeland Security said Tuesday that it has ended its program to allow illegal immigrants in detention more than eight hours of free phone calls a month, saying it doesn’t have the money to keep it going.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which runs the detention facilities, said it started offering the 520 minutes of free phone calls during the coronavirus pandemic, when it had to curtail in-person visits. But with those visits now back on the table, the phones have to go.

It said it is saving $10.2 million by ending the calls, though ICE said detainees still have free access to pro bono lawyers through tablets, because Congress has allocated money for that.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would gladly reinstate the 520 minutes calling program with adequate appropriated funds — but unfortunately, funding is a continued struggle, and the limited funds available are needed to carry out our congressionally mandated mission,” the agency said.

The end of the phone calls has not sat well with detainees.

Dozens of illegal immigrants at two of ICE’s detention facilities in California started on a hunger strike late last week, and restoring the phone calls is one of their demands.

The California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice said 62 detainees at the Golden State Annex and Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center are on strike.

The hunger strikers want the facilities shut down entirely, according to the collaborative, but in the meantime have issued demands including an end to the use of solitary confinement, more frequent review of their case statuses, and the phone calls.

“Stop charging us to call our families, lawyers and communities,” the list of demands reads.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.