Thousands with convictions released from immigration detention centers
The government is routinely releasing people with criminal convictions from immigration detention centers in Georgia and across the nation because their native countries aren't cooperating in repatriating them, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of records obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
Between October of 2011 and December of 2014, federal immigration authorities released people with convictions 105,632 times nationwide, the records show. Many had been convicted of traffic offenses, including driving under the influence. Others served time for more serious charges, such as assault, rape and homicide.
In a letter to Congress in February, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided an updated list of 23 “recalcitrant” countries, or ones that have been uncooperative in accepting the return of their citizens. The list includes: Afghanistan, China, Cuba, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya and South Sudan. ICE said it and the U.S. State Department have been working to improve cooperation with those nations, resulting in some progress.
About the Author
Jeremy Redmon is an award-winning journalist, essayist and educator with more than three decades of experience reporting for newspapers. He has written for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2005.
