By Gretchen Keiser

Representatives of six agencies working with refugee resettlement have expressed support for U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Shoob, who has ordered the release of some Cubans being held at the federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

In letters to Judge Shoob and Mayor Maynard Jackson, the representatives also underscored that the Cubans who are being released are being resettled in an orderly fashion and that the majority are being resettled in other sections of the country. Mayor Jackson and the Atlanta City Council had expressed concern about the release plans and about where Cubans being freed would resettle.

The U.S. Catholic Conference has been working to resettle some of 1,800 Cubans being held in the penitentiary. Some of the Cubans have been held in the former maximum security prison for a year. Until last spring, some had been cleared for resettlement after interviews and hearings with the USCC and the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service.

After the transition from the Carter to the Reagan administration, however, a freeze was placed on further releases while a new policy toward the “Freedom Flotilla” Cubans was formulated.

Judge Shoob’s action has cleared the way for some 155 Cubans to be released from the penitentiary and for an additional 226 to have their cases quickly reviewed for the possible release. Within the last two weeks, some on the list of 155 have left the penitentiary almost daily, in groups as large as 17 or as small as two on a given day. They have been resettled with relatives throughout the country.

The government has until Sept. 8 to review the list of 226 and present Judge Shoob with the names of any it objects to being released, according to Kevin Conboy, law clerk to Judge Shoob.

While the federal judge has received criticism from some quarters for his release order, the six resettlement agencies expressed their appreciation to him for his “sincere compassion toward a group suffering apparent injustice.”

The letter to Mayor Jackson expressed assurance that all those being resettled would be sponsored, either by individuals such as relatives, or by an agency.

“The current plans for resettlement of Cuban detainees released from federal penitentiary in the Atlanta area are minimal,” the letter said. “The vast majority of refugees are already committed to sponsorship in various sections of the country. We wish to assure you that Atlanta will suffer no problem from unsponsored refugees and we urge you to convey this factor as a personal assurance from you to the public.”

The letter was signed by six voluntary agencies on the Atlanta Inter-Agency Council for immigration and refugee services, including the USCC, represented by Father Jacob Bollmer, executive director of Catholic Social Services. The other agencies represented were Church World Service, International Rescue Committee, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, World Relief Refugee Services and the Hebrew Immigrant Aide Society.