Atlanta city government has applied for a $4 million federal grant to provide case management and other social services to migrants living in the region without legal status.
The funds are being offered through a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program that aims to give migrants access to mental health services, cultural and legal orientation programs, and screenings to determine if they are victims of human trafficking. Also included are “departure planning and reintegration services” for migrants returning to their home countries.
The intended beneficiaries of the program are people currently in deportation proceedings, but who are seeking asylum or other protections to stay in the U.S. They are known to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but are not in detention.
Last week, Atlanta City Council members passed an ordinance that ratified a grant application submitted in January by the mayor’s office.
The DHS initiative, dubbed the Case Management Pilot Program, was panned by conservative critics when it was created under then-President Joe Biden. A 2024 report by the House Judiciary Committee said the program amounts to “personal concierges for thousands of illegal aliens — all on the taxpayers’ dime.”
In fiscal year 2021, Congress provided an initial $5 million to create the program, with an additional $15 million approved the following year. As part of the March 2024 bipartisan omnibus appropriations bill, lawmakers approved a second $15 million disbursement for the program through Sept. 30, 2025.
Given President Donald Trump’s early actions to boost deportations and shrink the federal government, the program likely faces an uncertain future. DHS did not respond to inquiries on the matter from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office also did not provide answers to questions from the AJC.
A 2024 report from the American Immigration Lawyers Association says the program has, as of last summer, helped up to 3,000 migrants in New York City, Houston, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. In those communities, city agencies team up with local nonprofits to provide services.
Mental health care, legal orientation and applications for a tax-processing number (which allows foreign nationals to pay taxes even when they do not have a Social Security number), have been among the most common services dispensed so far. According to the association, clients have also been referred to “basic integration services” such as local food resources, language classes and housing assistance.
Once migrants enroll in the program they are no longer subject to electronic ICE monitoring, but must continue to attend periodic check-ins with immigration authorities at their nearest ICE field office.
“Given its unique posture, (the pilot program) is anticipated to promote several positive outcomes, including but not limited to people having a better understanding of the immigration process,” the lawyers association report says.
The report also notes that people enrolled in the program have complied with their immigration court proceedings at a higher rate than those enrolled in a preexisting ICE program for monitoring migrants who are not in detention.
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