Dan Genz, The Examiner
2008-04-09 07:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

At least six illegal immigrants jailed in last month’s federal raids on a Manassas construction company have been released from jail after promising to leave the country.

When the men returned home last week, some were already packing their bags to leave the country under the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s “voluntary return” program, while others were unsure what they had signed and believed they could stay.

“Some thought they were free to go, to live their life,” said Elinor Tesfamariam, a lawyer with the Immigration and Human Rights Law Group in Manassas who advised the men at an emergency meeting Friday night. “These people did not know what they needed to do.”

The workers are collecting their things and preparing to leave, Tesfamariam said. “They are realizing they have no choice.”

ICE agents arrested 34 illegal immigrants at two CMC Concrete Construction work sites in Manassas on March 24.

Other illegal immigrants detained in the raid are being held in detention centers, and some have been released on Global Positioning System surveillance, pending upcoming hearings.

Many were offered what is called “voluntary return,” ICE spokesman Brandon Montgomery said, though he could not say how many accepted the terms. Under the agreements, illegal immigrants must agree to leave by a certain date.

“It saves money for the government and allows them to be able to have some closure to do what they need to do,” Montgomery said.

ICE agents check to make sure the people actually leave and will consider anyone who violates the terms as fugitives, subject to immediate formal deportation, Montgomery said.

But illegal immigration critics said the process does not ensure the illegal immigrants will leave.

“If they all show up, be surprised,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank pursuing stricter controls against illegal immigration. “I’m not saying none will show up, but when the immigration service asks you, ‘Pretty please, come in for an immigration hearing,’ many times it doesn’t happen.”

dgenz@dcexaminer.com