California prisons won't hold some illegal immigrant offenders

California corrections officials have told the federal government that they will no longer lock up undocumented immigrants on parole violations who enter the country illegally after being deported, a practice that costs the state an estimated $10 million a year.

In a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday and in a news conference today, California corrections chief Matt Cate said the federal government should prosecute undocumented immigrants who return to the country after deportation because that is a crime under federal law.

The stance refers to immigrants  who had committed crimes in California and finished serving their terms.

In the past, the state has kept them on parole after deportation and incarcerated them for four to eight months when they were caught in the country illegally. But California is facing an order from a panel of federal judges to reduce the population in its overcrowded prisons.

Now, when such immigrants are released from prison and given to federal authorities for deportation, they will automatically be discharged from parole.

“Those short prison stints are not punishment enough for these repeat offenders, yet they cost California millions every year to recycle them through our parole process, exacerbating the crowded positions in our prisons,” Cate, secretary of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in his letter to Napolitano. “California can no longer afford this practice.”

Out of 12,000 undocumented immigrants released to federal authorities for deportation in 2007, nearly 1,600 returned illegally and were sent to prison, which cost the state up to $10million a year, corrections officials said.

--Michael Rothfeld

Comments

[steve rodriguez]

Isn't the reason for prisons in California to keep the population safe? Letting these illegals go makes no one safe, it's dangerous!!!!

[John]

Why don't you transport them to Napolitano's door and let her deal with it. Better yet, Bus them to the White House so fearless leader Obama can throw them a party on Wednesday's!

[pitbullstew]

If I read this correctly then if one is an undocumented individual they are exused from a full measure of punishement as we hold our ccitzens to a greater punishemnt? This is equal protection under the law?
I dont get it?

[Steve Wimer]

What is to prevent these criminals from re-entering the United States and wreaking havoc? If borders can be secured, this is a good option, if not, it could be a disaster.

[Say NO to releasing violent criminals]

as long as these are not violent and felony criminals, are only workers who got caught in immigration raids, this is the right choice. but if these are violent criminals or thugs who have done other crimes than just not having documentation, it is the wrong move.

which is it?

[Paul]

So, let me get this straight.....

I can be an illegal immigrant (broken law #1), be tried and convicted of a felony (broken law #2), do my time and get deported...only to return illegally (broken law #3), get caught but then get let go since California's prison's are overcrowded? But I can be a citizen and get sentenced to 25 years to life for stealing a pizza? And people wonder why illegals will risk their lives to come here. It's a free ride! Banks handed out mortgages to illegals with NO CREDIT CHECK and NO JOB VERIFICATION...but who's paying for it? Tax paying citizens are. This country is a joke. If we keep going like this we will not have a country to call home soon.

[AVRIL]

THIS IS SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS!!!!! THIS IS GIVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS A BLANK CHECK TO COMMIT CRIMES WHICH THEY KNOW THEY WILL NOT BE CONVICTED OF. THIS IS TRULY UNBELIEVABLE. AMERICAN CITIZENS NEED TO PROTEST LONG AND HARD TO HAVE THIS DECISION OVERTURNED. WE CAN'T JUST COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS ON THE WEBSITE, WE NEED TO ACTIVELY FORM A COALTION TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. BASICALLY THEY ARE ALLOWING NON-CITIZENS TO RAPE, ROB, AND MURDER IN OUR COUNTRY. IF A CRIME IS PUNISHABLE FOR CITIZENS, IT SHOULD JUST AS WELL BE PUNISHABLE FOR NON-CITIZENS. WE MUST PROTEST THIS TO PROTECT OUR LIVES.

[pam douglas]

it is about time..good call...release those serving parole violation time..over another 1000

[jojo]

"with liberty and head chopping 3rd world recidivistas for all..."

[perry chamberlain]

The bottom line here is, not that California doesn't want these illegal aliens to go to jail, what they are saying is, the feds need to stop forcing states to pay for housing the illegal aliens in state jails, who are here breaking federal law. They want the feds to step up and house them in federal prison.
The only good thing about this recession is the number of illegal aliens, that are returning home.
there's a silver lining in every cloud.

[D.]

"undocumented immigrants on parole violations"

Well, if they're on parole, then they've been documented haven't they?

Illegal alien is the appropriate term in this -and all- contexts.

[John]

The LA Times pushes for illegal immigration. Do they check the immigration status of their employees, such as those who deliver the paper? No, I'm sure. They hire Anna Gorman to regularly write proillegal immigration propaganda pieces.

[zanne]

You folks now have a revolving door for illegals. IN/ Out/IN/OUT...sweet.

[Max]

OMG....our system is so broke you don't even know where to begin fixing it.... this is truly the land for the free(ride)...

[Robert]

It's funny to read all your comments and notice how you have forgotten about your past and the history of your family. At some point in history you were all immigrants and at some point you were all illegal.

[zanne]

Robert, you must have a history that supports ILLEGAL immigration. Don't wrap your illegal status around the rest of us. We did it by the law. YOUR family broke the law to live in the U.S...mine didn't.

[barb]

I wonder why CA is in debt so bad? Does it have anything to do with illegals taking our benefits that we work for> Free medical for crossing the border to have a baby, Can't afford to eat so they get our food stamps & welfare, til they can find a landscape job if ever. Just like the Octu mom, paid the doctor with disability money. What about the Botox in the lips? I am glad to see America is taking care of anyone who comes here, and never getting in trouble for breaking our laws which mean nothing anymore.

[Illusion 888]

Illegal’s taking our benefits that we work for?
Free medical for crossing the border to have a baby?
Food stamps & welfare?

This is not an immigration problem it's a government handout problem. What do you expect from such incentive? People will of course cross the boarder and take all the goodies.

Government never fixes problems they pay to maintain them.
Is health care going to be fixed? No way,it will now be institutionalized as a permanent problem and they will pay to make sure it stays this way. War on poverty Forget it, War on Drugs, it’s going real well is it not ? Well, now it’s like war on illegal immigrant.

Why would bureaucrats fix anything? They would be killing there own jobs. They are are working for the problems factory.

Ask your self why was immigration not a problem 50 years ago?

A) Because 50 years ago it took immigration only three months to get every thing on a new immigrant. (A Federal police record,Local Police Record,Recommendations,Education,Complete Health and Medical Record etc) to issue US a Green Card.

To day the bureaucrats will do this in height or nine years.
So you end up with with a kind of soft prohibition.

Is it any wonder why people jump the fence.

Call immigration and try to ask for a immigration Visa. Once you have manage to talk to a voice mail and you have press all the extensions you may apply and pay for a brochure that explains the start of the procedure. Forget the “Give me you’re tired, you’re poor”

It’s more like “Get your cash and get a good lawyer and be prepare to get it when you are hold”.

What presently exists is a recipe for disaster.

Two Government creation in contradictions.
A)- A kind of soft Immigration prohibition.
B)- A Government welfare free lunch incentive to jump the fence.

How is this supposed to work?
Don’t Jump the fence to the US but if you do we will reward you.

Is it any wonder why an immigrant doesn’t wait nine years for the bureaucrats to find out if he or she is an honorable person and if he or she is needed in the country for is or her skill(s).

In more than one way criticizing illegal immigration is focusing at the consequences of the problem and not at the real problem. Blaming Illegal Immigrants will not fix immigration. Fixing the Immigration bureaucracy and limiting the access to the welfare state will.

Many Americans ho criticize have ancestor that came to America when the good Doctor looked at an immigrant coming out of a boat at Ellis Island and said open your mouth,let me see you eyes and then said, next one please. Of course that was a bit too easy but what exist now is bureaucratic nightmare.

When immigration worked Immigrants came to America for an opportunity not a free lunch. The State changed the sytem not the immigrant.