WASHINGTON — More than 2,000 aliens facing deportation in 2013 were released strictly for budget reasons by immigration agency officials who kept the Homeland Security secretary in the dark about the plan, according to a watchdog’s report.

This lack of communication led the Obama administration to wrongly deny for weeks that 2,228 aliens facing deportation had been released, according to the report Tuesday from the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general.

It also said officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not adequately plan for the increase in alien arrests at the Mexican border and did not track available funds or spending accurately.

Spokesman Gillian Christensen said Wednesday that the agency “is committed to addressing the issues identified in the report and has already begun developing plans of action.”

Citing internal budget documents, The Associated Press reported March 1, 2013, that the administration had released more than 2,000 aliens in the preceding two weeks and planned to release 3,000 more amid the looming budget cuts.

The White House and the Homeland Security Department disputed the AP’s reporting until March 14, when the then-Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, John Morton, acknowledged to Congress during a hearing that the agency had released 2,228 people.

At the time, Morton told lawmakers that the decision to release the aliens was not discussed in advance with political appointees, including those in the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. He said the pending automatic cuts known as sequestration were “driving in the background.”