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Tech meltdown cripples deportation cases

A computer meltdown is crippling the nation’s immigration courts — creating an overwhelming backlog of deportation cases, The Post has learned.

The problem began April 12, when five servers that help power a nationwide computer network failed and shut down the entire system, an insider at the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed.

Without access to the electronic records, court proceedings have slowed to a crawl and officials are resorting to old-fashioned methods — including paper, pens and cassette recorders — to keep track of cases.

One illegal alien who was ordered deported to his native Brazil following a DWI conviction even got to skip a scheduled flight home Friday due to the problem, the ICE source said.

He claimed to have filed a last-minute appeal, and prosecutors couldn’t check to see if he was lying — so he was released under an “order of supervision” that relies on him to check in with deportation officers, the source said.

That man, who was not identified, came to the United States illegally in 1988 and has a history with ICE of skipping out on bond.

The parts needed to repair the busted servers — located in Falls Church, Virginia. — aren’t expected to arrive for at least two weeks, the source added.

A veteran immigration lawyer, Alexander Cane, predicted the glitch would help aliens, possibly even leading to their release over “due process” issues caused by delays.

Court workers are prioritizing cases and struggling to make and maintain official records without their computers.

At the immigration court in lower Manhattan on Monday, officials openly complained about the problem.

Judge Alan Page, who was presiding via video from Newark, set a follow-up date for one case, then noted ruefully, “I guess we’ll have to put it in manually.”

“Everything is accumulating. We just have boxes and boxes,” a clerk responded.

Another immigration lawyer, Eva Kozlowska, said the problem was wreaking havoc with her practice because she can’t check online about the status of cases.

“Furthermore, the toll-free, 1-800 number that gives information about respondents, their court dates, what judges they are before and other information is also not working,” Kozlowska said.

A statement posted on the Department of Justice Web site said, “A hardware failure has resulted in the agency’s inability to perform some functions related to its computer system.”

An ICE spokesman said, “The immigration courts have developed alternative solutions and have continued to schedule and hear immigration cases brought to the courts by ICE.”

Lauren Alder Reid, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, added, “EOIR is not making any decisions regarding the release of detainees outside of normal court processes.”

Additional reporting by Antonio Antenucci and Bruce Golding