Thread: Arizona transfers dozens of 'criminal aliens' to ICE custody

Arizona transfers dozens of 'criminal aliens' to ICE custody

by Catherine Holland

Posted on January 28, 2010 at 8:24 AM



BUCKEYE -- With prison costs at more than $1 billion per year, Arizona is making some big changes in how it houses criminals.

On Thursday morning, Arizona began transferring illegal immigrants who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes from the Arizona State Prison Complex in Buckeye to federal custody to serve out the last three months of their sentences.

Fifty-one prisoners were transferred Thursday morning. After being taken off the Arizona Department of Corrections but, each inmate was processed, searched and then restrained with zip ties before being loaded on to an ICE bus.

According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, more than 1,200 prisoners will be moved over the next two fiscal years.

The savings to Arizona is expected to be about $5.7 million.

The cost of feeding and housing the 51 prisoners transferred today totals about $3,000 per day.

Charles Ryan, Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, said transferring these prisoners to ICE will open up some bed space in Arizona's prison system.

"We are returning to federal custody those inmates that otherwise should, in fact, be in their control," Ryan explained. "These inmates are going to be transferred to ICE custody within 90 days of their end-of-sentence dates. We're we're transferring these people prior to the end of sentence, but they're going from our custody to ICE custody. They are not going to the street."

The 51 inmates transferred today are the first of about 400 who will be moved this fiscal year. Next year, that number could be as high as 800.

"This will, we believe, help reduce the operating cost of our prison system," Ryan said. "These people belong in the custody of the federal system."

About 15 percent of Arizona's prison population is in this country illegally.

"The largest contributor are inmates from South America and Mexico," Ryan said. "We have more than 6,300 criminal aliens that need to be deported and returned their countries of origin after they've finished their sentences."

Ryan said the inmates have been warned that they are not to come back, and they will face prosecution and longer incarceration if they do.

"That is the message from the governor and our Legislature," Ryan said.

In addition to the transfer of criminal aliens, some nonviolent offenders who are U.S. citizens could be eligible for temporary release to the community based on approved service programs. Ryan said that happens routinely.

http://oneoldvet.com/

www.azfamily.com

Good start, but not enough, those 15% plus their 20-30% of anchors need to go back...we can do it, yes we can!

California needs to do this on a grand scale, by the thousands.

Send every illegal aliens in any CA. prison to I.C.E.

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4878--0-0.html

'The cost to our taxpayers is astronomical,' commissioner says:


http://www.lvrj.com/news/more-illegal-i ... 79442.html

8:10 am | 54° January 29, 2010 |
Valley & State
How prisoner transfer could help Arizona's financial picture
Jan. 28, 2010 10:26 PM


How prisoner transfer could help Arizona's financial picture

A new effort could save taxpayers millions of dollars as illegal immigrants housed in Arizona prisons are transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.


• The program allows for the early release of non-violent criminal migrants with less than 90 days left on their sentences.

• Arizonans pay an average of $57 a day to house the migrants.

• Corrections officials estimate the effort could slice an average of 73 days off a migrant's prison stay at Arizona's expense.

• As many as 1,200 prisoners could qualify for early release over the next 18 months.

• If forecasts prove accurate, the measure should save more than $4.8 million.


http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... 29box.html

What Arizona needs to do ,is call out the National Guard.
And shut down there own borders. Obama will never do it. Hes to much of a kiss up to those illegal voters.