Federal immigration authorities confirmed Wednesday they have put 28 illegal immigrants back behind bars in Georgia and other states after releasing them and 2,200 others because of federal spending cuts.
The government’s original decision to release them angered congressional Republicans, who accused the Obama administration of playing politics with the budget cuts, called sequestration.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it took custody of the 28 after they were “either violating the terms of their supervision or after the agency discovered information not available during an initial review of their case.”
“ICE will continue to review the terms of release for the individuals as part of its routine practice and will reconsider conditions as necessary,” ICE spokesman Vincent Picard said.
Three of the illegal immigrants taken back into custody were sent to detention centers in Georgia, according to ICE. They are:
• A Guatemalan who was living in Georgia and had been convicted of driving under the influence. ICE said it learned of a more recent conviction for the same offense after his release and took him back into custody “for public safety reasons.”
• A Honduran who was living in North Carolina and who was put back behind bars after ICE said it learned of information that “was sufficient to raise a concern for the safety of the public.”
• Hector Moreno Adame, who entered the country illegally from Mexico in 1999. He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence in November and held at the Stewart Detention Center south of Atlanta, said his attorney, Charles Kuck. ICE released Adame less than three weeks ago.
A father of five U.S.-born children, Adame was picked up by ICE at his home in Ridgeland, S.C., Monday and was being sent back to Stewart, said Kuck, who is fighting to keep him from being deported. ICE said it took Adame back into custody after “the conditions of his release were violated when he was arrested by local law enforcement on a new criminal charge.” ICE declined to identify that new charge. And Kuck said he was not aware of any new charge against Adame.
“One way or the other, their position is inconsistent,” Kuck said of the government. “Either they shouldn’t have been holding him at all or they should have given him bond earlier.”
Adame’s wife, Victorina, said their children have been crying and asking about their father.
“Since he was arrested, I have had a lot of emotional and economic problems,” she said. “We lost our house, and now I and my five kids are living in one room.”
Under withering criticism from House Republicans at a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday, ICE Director John Morton defended his agency’s original decision to release the illegal immigrants. Morton said it was solely based on budget constraints, citing a nearly $300 million spending cut caused by sequestration.
“In short, there are no mass releases of dangerous criminals under way or any planned for the future, just efforts to live within our budget,” he told the House Judiciary Committee.
In all, Morton said, ICE released 2,228 detainees last month. Morton said his agency focused on releasing those not “subject to mandatory detention and who did not pose a significant threat to public safety.” They all remained in deportation proceedings after their release, Morton said.
Of those released, 70 percent had no criminal records, Morton said. The others, he said, have been convicted of misdemeanors or crimes that did not pose a violent threat to public safety. Eight have committed aggravated felonies, making them ICE’s top priority for enforcement. Morton indicated ICE has taken four of those eight felons back into custody.
Republican Judiciary Committee members suggested ICE endangered public safety by releasing the illegal immigrants and argued it could have shifted money around in its budget to keep them behind bars. They also criticized Morton’s agency for not consulting Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano before releasing them.
“Mr. Morton,” said U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., “I will tell you from this vantage point it does look like the decision to release detainees was a political determination and not a monetary determination.”
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