Sen. Alloway Bill Speeds Up Deportations

The York Dispatch
April 12, 2012
By Greg Gross

State Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Franklin County, will introduce a bill in the Senate that will greatly speed up deportation hearings for illegal immigrants convicted of nonviolent crimes.

The bill allows federal officials to start deportation hearings for illegal immigrants while they are serving time in prison.

Under current law, illegal immigrants convicted of nonviolent offenses, such as drug crimes and thefts, are not subject to a deportation hearing until after they serve their minimum sentence and are released on parole.

There are currently 265 illegal immigrants serving time in state prisons for nonviolent crimes, said Susan McNaughton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections.

"Each year we'll get about 65 new" criminals who are illegal immigrants, she said.

John Wetzel, the secretary of corrections, recently endorsed the concept of Alloway's proposed legislation, McNaughton confirmed.

Cost: A driving factor behind the proposal is cost.

A former district magistrate, Alloway said he saw first-hand the drawn out process to get illegal immigrants convicted of nonviolent crimes deported.

"I know I'll get criticized for this (proposed bill) by some people," he said.

If passed, the legislation will save state taxpayers approximately $1.5 million per year, Alloway said.

"Americans can't afford to keep locking up all these people," he said.

"I'm trying to think outside of the box."

The proposed bill would not affect illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes.

Alloway said he expects to present the bill in the Senate in a week.

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