Trump's transition team eyes expansion of ankle monitors for illegal immigrants not in custody

President-elect Trump has pledged to launch a mass deportation operation once sworn into office, and his transition team has already been engaged in planning to make that happen. 

Multiple sources familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital the priority for the incoming administration is the detention and deportation of illegal immigrants along with preventing them from entering the U.S. in the first place.

However, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention capacity in the tens of thousands, compared to the millions who are not currently in detention, officials are also expected to ramp up the monitoring of those not in detention until they can be removed. 

Under the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, newly arrived illegal immigrants going through court proceedings are monitored by either an ankle-worn or wrist-worn device or use a cell phone app under which they are required to check in with ICE. According to ICE data as of November, just 187,747 individuals are being monitored by technology, including about 25,000 on the ankle monitors or wrist-worn devices. Typically, migrants are placed on ATD from their release at the border and earlier on in the lifecycle of their cases.

The increase in the use of GPS monitoring could also be accompanied by additional penalties for a lack of compliance, although it is still not clear what those penalties would be.

A significant expansion of ICE capacity has been expected in the upcoming administration, given the promise of a mass deportation campaign. The GEO Group, which is the exclusive contractor for that technology, announced a $70 million investment Monday to increase its capabilities to deliver detention capacity, secure transport and electronic monitoring services to ICE.