Thread: ID-Program could clear immigrants from jails

Program could clear immigrants from jails
Posted: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 10:58:26 pm PDT
By ALECIA WARREN

Eliminating foreign inmates earlier may save millions

Flirting with a new idea to shave state costs, Gov. Butch Otter is examining the possibility of clearing more foreign nationals out of the state prison system.

Housing fewer foreign inmates could potentially save millions for the state, said governor spokesman Jon Hanian.

"Potentially we see this as a cost savings for taxpayers, and also a more effective use of resources," Hanian said.

The governor sent a letter last week asking Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the U.S. District Court in Boise to support a new method of processing foreign inmates through the state detention system.

The governor hopes to prompt the U.S. government to hold federal deportation hearings earlier in the detention process -- prior to parole hearings, in particular.

"It would greatly enhance our ability to make appropriate parole decisions if the federal immigration hearing was conducted before a parole hearing," read the letter sent on May 7. "This would allow the Parole Commission to determine the best course of action for the inmate, victim and society."

If the state knows early on whether inmates will be deported, for instance, the Idaho Department of Correction could save by not placing the inmates in certain programming.

"That, and we may be looking for opportunities to get them out of the system altogether and back to the countries of origin," Hanian said. "What we'd like to do is have a discussion about this process. We are reaching out to him (Judge Winmill) to begin that discussion so that he can involve other federal judges who don't reside in the state of Idaho who may have impact on this decision."

A spokesman for Judge Winmill said the judge could not comment on the letter because it would create a conflict with several pending immigration cases the judge is presiding over.

Olivia Craven, executive director of the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole, could not be reached for comment.

Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, said the letter was spurred by the senator's prompting to choke off state funding that supports illegal immigrants.

Jorgenson has been spreading statistics to constituents across the state that there are 355 foreign nationals incarcerated in prisons across the state.

Housing the inmates costs $58 a day, and more than $7 million over a year, he said.

"The issue is simply this: Foreign nationals are incarcerated, then when they're released, they're going to be deported, and we're spending a lot of money to put them through a therapy that's for naught," Jorgenson said. "It's not going to be any benefit to Idaho to invest all this money in them when we deport them when their sentences end."

There is no way to tell how much would be saved by more immediate deportation hearings, said David Hensley, legal counsel to the governor.

"It really depends on the inmate -- some treatment and programming is more expensive than others," he said. "I can tell you drug treatment, alcohol treatment, behavioral changes, those treatments vary in costs and some of it can be extensive."

There are also several factors involved with whether inmates are deported, he added.

Some countries have specific rules on which criminals can return and when, for instance.

"And we want to be careful -- when they're convicted of crimes in the state of Idaho, people in the state are owed retribution or restitution, whether it is just the knowledge that this person has served their time for this crime," Hensley said. "What it really boils down to is if they're going to be deported, do we deport them prior to their full sentence, and what resources do we expend?"

http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2009/0 ... s/news01.t

This is a crock having to pay for any kind of rehabilitation for illegal aliens. I've talked to Senator Jorgenson about this, and we're going to do all we can to change this practice. The taxpayers shouldn't be responsible in any way for illegal aliens. Let them serve their time, then deport their butts.

This is all good (IMO). However, for it to be of any real long term value the border must be secured! What good does it do to expedite the process when the illegal will be back in 30-90 days?

Let's build a double-layered fence with high speed roads between layers, sensors, monitors, and stadium lighting across the entire border!

Add in the frequent lengthy criminal investigations, defense costs and prosecution costs. These people are taking us to the cleaners.