The White House, after stating recently that it will look to expand alternatives to incarceration, has devised a cost-effective plan: ankle monitors. Instead of detaining illegal immigrants, especially families with young children, the federal government has decided that affixing these monitors to the ankles of immigrants is a practical, cheap, and relatively easy way to allow illegal immigrants to go about their daily routine, but also alert authorities if they attempt to flee.
It is a solution that, on the surface, would seem to satisfy both sides of the immigration debate. Immigration hawks can be confident that illegal aliens are not going to escape justice, and the cost to taxpayers is minimized. Meanwhile, supporters of illegal immigrants can rest assured that they are not being thrown in jail with hardened criminals and will have some freedom to live a normal life, save for a slight heaviness on one ankle. Clearly, ankle bracelets do not solve the problem, but they are a step in the right direction.
