On November 5, 2004, The Associated Press reported that the U.S. government might allow some illegal immigrants from Haiti to stay in the U.S., but only if they are not violent criminal and only if they come from communities destroyed by Tropical Storm Jeanne. According to Bill Strassberger, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), it is not definite how many illegal immigrants will be offered temporary status or how long they will be allowed to stay in the U.S. because “the decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis,” he said.

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According to a November 16th News Release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the number of alien removals and fugitive alien apprehensions has reached an all time high for the fiscal year 2004. The News Release states that “ICE’s Office of Detention and Removal Operations (DRO), responsible for removal of aliens, credited the fiscal year increases with the agency’s more aggressive focus on targeting criminal and fugitive aliens – those who pose the most serious risks to public safety and national security.”

ICE reported 157,281 alien removals and 11,063 fugitive alien apprehensions in the 2004 fiscal year. In addition to the removals, DRO offers two new “cost-effective alternatives to detention for aliens who do not pose threats to national security or public safety.” These alternatives include the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) and the Electronic Monitoring Device (EMD). Both programs allow the agency to track down aliens “who fail to report for removal and increase[s] ICE’s ability to identify alien absconders as early as possible.” Aliens who do not conform to the program requirements are immediately apprehended.