From Fox News.com - Texas parole officials can soon use a new state law to begin deporting some of the 11,000 foreign citizens who are incarcerated in state prisons. The Austin American-Statesman reports the deportations could save taxpayers millions of dollars. The state law, which takes effect Sept. 1, allows the parole board to approve convicts for parole on the condition that they are deported to their home country. The law covers foreigners convicted of both violent and nonviolent crimes. Parole officials are worried about how to implement the new law because in recent years, several hundred foreign-born felons were paroled and released to federal officials for deportation but were instead allowed to remain in Texas on parole at the cost of state taxpayers. Bryan Collier, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said about 11,500 of Texas' 156,000 state prisoners are not U.S. citizens, and about 6,000 of those currently have a deportation order pending. Texas lawmakers have debated such a deportation program for nearly 20 years, with several unsuccessful attempts at legislation.
Lawmakers say the state could save as much as $100 million annually if as many as 5,000 foreigners were removed from state prisons and deported. The state spends about $3 billion a year operating the state's 112 prisons and related programs. Read more
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