Deportation up 63 percent in Georgia, Carolinas

There was a 63 percent increase in illegal immigrants deported from Georgia and the Carolinas in the 12 months ending in October, and thousands of criminals were tagged for removal from the country upon their release from prison, federal officials said Thursday.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Atlanta Field Office of Detention and Removal carried out a record 17,955 deportation orders, compared with 11,006 the previous year, officials said.

They were among more than 40,000 people the field office processed in the three states during the 2008 fiscal year.

They included Nai Yin Xue, a New Zealand man wanted in his homeland for the killing of his wife. He was arrested in suburban Atlanta in late February and escorted back to New Zealand in March.

Also deported was Afshin Rezaei, an Iranian living in Atlanta who pleaded guilty to exporting laptop computers to Iran through the United Arab Emirates in violation of export laws.

With help from state and local authorities, ICE said it identified 9,182 criminal aliens who were incarcerated. Georgia led the way with more than 4,700.

In addition, the agency began removal proceedings against another 7,000 criminals in state, local and federal jails and prisons, an increase from 3,722 in 2007. Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for ICE, said they will face possible deportation when their sentences are complete.

The agency also said fugitive teams in the three states arrested 1,938 people who had been ordered deported by immigration judges but failed to comply.

Among them was Humberto Rodas-Diaz, a Mexican convicted of aggravated sexual battery and child molestation who had illegally re-entered the country. He was arrested by the Atlanta fugitive operations team on March 10 and was deported.