Nearly 7,000 deportation cases in Georgia to be reviewed for possible dismissal
By Jeremy Redmon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
3:55 p.m. Friday, August 26, 2011

Thousands of suspected illegal immigrants facing deportation in Georgia will have their court cases reviewed for possible dismissal as the Obama administration tightens its focus on violent criminals and national security threats.

There were 6,861 pending cases combined in immigration courts in Atlanta and the Stewart Detention Center in southwest Georgia as of July 31, the most recent date for which these statistics are available, U.S. Justice Department figures show. Nationwide, there were 289,033 pending cases as of that date.

It’s unclear how many of those cases could be closed under plans the Obama administration announced this month. Federal officials don’t keep statistics on how many involve the people they are focusing on, including those who have committed violent crimes, repeat violators of immigration law, people who recently crossed the border illegally and fugitives from immigration authorities.

Opponents of the government's plans say President Barack Obama is playing politics and ignoring federal immigration laws. Supporters say the government needs to prioritize because it has limited resources to detain and deport illegal immigrants.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced plans for the nationwide, case-by-case review in a letter to U.S. senators Aug. 18. She said a team of officials will review all pending cases based on guidelines Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued June 17. Those guidelines say ICE prosecutors may give special consideration to several groups, including illegal immigrants who were brought here as young children, graduated from high schools here or served in the U.S. military.

A Homeland Security spokesman said the government is still deciding how it will do the case-by-case review and when the work will begin.

But the government has already started closing cases in Georgia based on ICE's guidelines.

On Tuesday, Pedro Morales, 19, of Dalton and Luis "Ricky" Hernandez, 18, of Calhoun were freed from the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin after their attorney cited the ICE guidelines and Napolitano’s letter in court. Both were illegally brought here from Mexico as young children. And both have attended public high schools in North Georgia.

Other Atlanta-area immigration attorneys say they will use similar tactics. Carolina Antonini said that before Napolitano sent her letter this month Antonini told some of her clients facing deportation: “ ‘Look, I am going to request some things, but it is probably not going to work. Start packing your bags.’ My advice to them now is: ‘Don’t pack your bags. Unpack. This is not over.’ â€