ICE scraps self-deportation plan

The federal government will scrap a program for illegal immigrants to turn themselves in for deportation after only eight people volunteered during a nearly three-week trial, an official said Thursday. AP in the Daily News.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offered the pilot program in five cities, giving illegal immigrants facing court orders to leave the country 90 days to plan their departure and coordinate travel with relatives instead of facing the prospect of being arrested, detained and deported.

ICE will end its scheduled-departure program when a trial period concludes today, Jim Hayes, acting director of ICE's detention and removal operations, told The Associated Press.