Posted: 8:47 a.m. Friday, March 8, 2013
Jim Galloway
ajc.com

Five GOP congressman are demanding that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tell them how many illegal aliens have been released in Georgia because of alleged financial pressure from sequestration cuts.

U.S. Reps. Doug Collins of Gainesville, Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County, Tom Graves of Ranger, Paul Broun of Athens, and Phil Gingrey of Marietta said the releases appear to be “politically motivated.”

The five point to Napolitano's Feb. 14 appearance before the House Appropriations Committee, during which she offered testimony on the impact that mandated across-the-board budget cuts would have on her department. She failed to mention that the release of 2,000 illegal immigrants would begin the next day.

Though they wouldn’t put an exact number to it, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have confirmed that some illegal immigrants have been freed from the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, 145 miles south of Atlanta.

Read the letter here. The Georgia congressmen – Broun is an announced candidate for U.S. Senate, and Gingrey is likely to become one – have demanded answers to the following questions:

-- When was the decision made to release illegal aliens because of sequestration and what was the timeframe for the releases to occur? If there is a memorandum or other document detailing the specifics ofthe program, please include a copy.

-- How many illegal aliens were released in Georgia and how many have criminal convictions? What are the specific crimes committed by the illegal aliens released in Georgia?

-- ICE spokesman Brian Hale was quoted in the AP story as saying, “At this point, we don’t anticipate additional releases, but that could change.” Has DHS officially ended the program to release illegal aliens because of sequestration or is it only temporarily spended?

-- What is the oversight policy for tracking the released illegal aliens? What are the repercussions if an illegal alien violates the terms of his/her release?

-- How much has DHS reduced its budget by releasing these illegal aliens? What are the costs and details of all “alternatives to detention” employed by ICE?


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