 However, when we asked Liz Elio-Pereira, the senior ICE official, if detention was used as a deterrent to illegal immigration, she said it wasn't so black and white. It's not something that we're looking at as a way to provide a punitive measure to individuals who are crossing our borders. But we are charged with the enforcement of immigration laws. Part of that charge is to ensure that individuals are not with the misunderstanding that our borders are open for free crossings.