More illegal immigrant criminals coming to state; Consolidation effort sends detainees here; Alabama cries foul as Georgia stands to gain federal money, jobs.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 16, 2010
Jeremy Redmon; Staff

Hundreds of illegal immigrants will be transferred to a Georgia jail to join thousands already facing deportation in this state amid a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration, federal officials confirmed Wednesday.

By Jan. 1, the government will transfer an estimated 100 female detainees from an Alabama jail to one in Ocilla, three hours south of Atlanta, according to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson's office.

Some additional new female detainees will also be sent later to the privately operated Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla.

Aides to the Georgia Republican, who were briefed by federal immigration officials Tuesday, said some male detainees held at the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Ala., could also be moved to Ocilla.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to cut costs by consolidating its detainees, officials said.

More than 2,000 suspected illegal immigrants are already being held in detention centers in Atlanta, Gainesville and Lumpkin in southwest Georgia.

Federal immigration officials have also confirmed they will stop housing suspected illegal immigrants from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in the Gadsden jail.

ICE's latest plans, meanwhile, have sparked an outcry in Alabama, underscoring how illegal immigration, economic development and politics have become intertwined.

With about $5 million in annual federal funding and 41 county jobs at stake, Alabama congressmen have been scrambling to keep ICE's detainees in the Gadsden jail.

Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, announced Tuesday that jail will continue to hold ICE detainees at least through June 30.

An aide to Aderholt said ICE officials have confirmed that inmates transferred from Gadsden to Georgia would be replaced by detainees from elsewhere.

Officials from Alabama said they were stunned when ICE informed them this month that the agency planned to stop housing around 300 detainees there and that they would instead be held in Georgia.

Among the reasons ICE cited for the move, according to Aderholt's office, were cost savings and a complaint that a court hearing room at the Gadsden jail was too small.

"The manner in which ICE has handled their relationship with the Etowah County Detention Center over the last several weeks has been very poor and unprofessional, but I am pleased that we were able to work out some compromise that will save jobs and prevent an economic setback in the region," Aderholt said in prepared statement.

An ICE spokeswoman issued a statement Wednesday, referencing how the organization is expanding a fingerprint-checking program in county jails nationwide. Called "Secure Communities," the program is sending more illegal immigrants to ICE detention centers.

The changes in Georgia, ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said, will allow the agency's Atlanta field office "to consolidate its resources within Georgia to be able to process the increased workload that will be coming as a result of the Secure Communities roll out in Georgia.

This will help ensure that no dangerous criminal alien is released into the community and that cases leading to removal are processed as expeditiously as possible.

"The Irwin County, Ga., detention facility is well situated to house detainees from a number of counties that will begin participating in the [Secure Communities] program during 2011."

It remains unclear, however, how moving the detainees from Alabama to Georgia would save money. The federal government pays $40 per inmate per day to house detainees in the Alabama jail, said Scott Hassell, Etowah County's chief of corrections. The rate at the Irwin County jail is $45, according to ICE. There are some costs to transport detainees from the Alabama jail to the immigration court in Atlanta, but Gadsden is about 60 miles closer to Atlanta than Ocilla.

The Ocilla jail's warden, Barbara Walrath, said Wednesday she was seeking permission from ICE to comment on the matter. The jail, operated by Detention Management LLC, is the county's largest private employer, said Joey Whitley, chairman of the Irwin Board of Commissioners.

"The more detainees that we can get will be better for our facility," Whitley said. "If we can get more inmates, then ... I would hope we would be able to put more people to work."

An aide to Isakson said the senator became involved after Irwin County officials informed his office that Alabama officials were trying to get ICE to change its plans.

"Johnny urged the ICE folks to stick with a plan to move detainees to the Irwin County facility," said Joan Kirchner, a spokeswoman for Isakson. "ICE said that's what they planned to do because it makes financial sense."

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