About a month ago, I read an NPR piece by Ted Robbins titled, "Little-known Immigration Mandate Keeps Detention Beds Full." It brought to my attention the fact that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had interpreted language in H.R. 2217 to mean it was required to maintain, on average, a daily detention population of 34,000 people. The provision in H.R. 2217 reads as follows: “Funding made available under this heading shall maintain a level of not less than 34,000 detention beds through September 30, 2014.” If there is another way to interpret this language other than to mean ICE must maintain a minimum of 34,000 detainees daily, we are all ears, Congress.