Illegal immigrant fishing without a license to be deported

Because of Castro's arrest, he was automatically subject to federal law 287(g), which gives trained deputies and state patrol officers the same power and duties of federal immigration officers. The federal law gives authority for state and local enforcement to investigate the status of an individual, as well as  the power to detain and arrest illegal immigrants for civil and criminal reasons.

"I hear all the time that people saying ‘This person was deported for driving without a license, or urinating in public or fishing without a license'," said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington D.C.  "The truth is, people get deported because they have violated immigration law. It came to our attention because of something else, but they violated immigration law."

Police officers in four Georgia counties -- Hall, Whitfield, Gwinnett and Cobb -- and in 71 law enforcement agencies across the U.S., have 287(g) arrest powers.

Vaughan said this is because Congress has only appropriated a limited number of funds for 287(g).

"Last I heard there were roughly 30 agencies on the waiting list," Vaughan said.

But Beatriz Castro,  Josue's wife believes 287(g) is being abused-- especially in her Latino neighborhood. She told the story of a single mother who was stopped at a roadblock in her subdivision and arrested for driving without a license. Subject to 287(g), the woman was deported-- leaving her children in Hall County.

"These people don’t have a heart," Beatriz said.

But Vaughan says the offense doesn't have to be dangerous to subject an individual to 287(g) .

"The legislation that authorized the 287(g) was never meant to be limited to serious criminals or felons or anything like that," Vaughan said. "It was designed to give discretion to local officials. The Obama administration did provide some guidelines that said, ‘We would like you to focus most of your efforts on serious crime,' but even the Obama administration said you don’t have to."

Although Castro was ineligible for a residence permit through marriage because he entered the U.S. without permission in 2005.

For Castro, whose deportation is now certain, it's only a matter of time.

"He will stay in jail [in Hall County] until he's picked up by immigration officers," Corso told the AJC. "It's a whole process now to get him back to Honduras, it could take anywhere from four to seven weeks."

Beatriz said she feels justice was not served.

"It's hard because my job is here," Beatriz  told the AJC. "I guess I'll have to go [to Honduras] to see him but it's just going to be so hard."