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$6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American Taxp

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A3Psupporter

U.S. taxpayers are paying out well in excess of $6.78 billion every year to incarcerate around 450,000 illegal immigrants who are eligible for deportation, according to new data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The staggering amount is based on a daily rate of $18.6 million per day incarceration cost calculated by the DOJ in 2001. This means that the actual expense is considerably higher, given that a decade has passed and the immigration invasion has continued apace.

According to the latest report from the DHS Inspector General (IG), there are “approximately 300,000 to 450,000 criminal aliens incarcerated in federal, state, county, and local correctional facilities [who] are eligible for removal from the United States.”

A DOJ spokesman told independent news outlet CNSNews.com that the latest data available shows that “average annual operating costs per state inmate for Fiscal Year 2001 was $22,650; in the Federal Bureau of Prisons it was $22,632.”

According to CSNNews.com, these “annual operation costs exclude capital expenditures, juvenile corrections, probation, parole, and most central office functions of corrections spending.

“The cost of $22,650 per year to house just one inmate at the state level equals about $62 a day ($22,650 divided by 365 days). In the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it also averages out to $62 per day ($22,632 divided by 365 days),” the report said.

“Given this daily average expense (based on fiscal year 2001 costs), it can be estimated that the cost of housing 300,000 incarcerated illegal aliens in U.S. prisons would equal $18.6 million per day; the cost for housing 450,000 incarcerated illegal aliens would equal $27.9 million per day. If inflation in prison costs since 2001 were factored in, the expense would be even greater,” CNSNews said.

A surprisingly large number of these illegal aliens are members of the central and south American street gangs which are swamping the streets of cities and towns all over our country.

The prisoners involved here are foreign-born nationals who have come into the United States, committed a crime, been captured, and imprisoned.

Half of the undocumented aliens who were removed from the United States in fiscal 2010 (which ended on Sept. 30) had been convicted of a crime in the United States.

According to a 2007 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “Operation Community Shield” Fact Sheet, a threat assessment survey “showed that most major metropolitan areas were experiencing a surge in gang activity. Additionally, the survey showed that membership of these violent transnational gangs was comprised largely of foreign-born nationals.”

Figures released by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), which is an office of the U.S. Department of Justice, indicated that there are at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across America today. In 1999, Hispanics accounted for 47 percent of all gang members, blacks 34 percent, whites 13 percent, and Asians 7 percent.

Other figures released by the DHS and ICE last week showed that half of the undocumented aliens who were removed from the United States in fiscal year 2010, which ended on Sept. 30, were convicted criminals.

“In fiscal year 2010, ICE set a record for overall removals of illegal aliens, with more than 392,000 removals nationwide,” an Oct. 6 press release from the DHS said.

“Half of those removed — more than 195,000 — were convicted criminals.”

“The fiscal year 2010 statistics represent increases of more than 23,000 removals overall and 81,000 criminal removals compared to fiscal year 2008 — a more than 70 percent increase in removal of criminal aliens from the previous administration,” added the release.

* Given that there are around 2,304,115 inmates in jails in America, an illegal immigrant criminal population of 450,000 translates to 19.5 percent of the entire prison population.

$6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American Taxpayers | American Third Position
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

I have no problem with illegals being incarcerated. Illegals should be incarcerated at least 6 months and longer for any additional crimes besides illegal immigration before being deported. Being an illegal does not exempt them from punishment.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

What a waste of money.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

What a waste of money.

If anything is a waste it is releasing an illegal without serving any jail time or releasing an illegal before they completely serve out their sentence. I realizing that to you pro-illegals believe that illegal immigration should not be a crime and that illegals who commit crimes other than illegal immigration should not be serving time behind bars. We have a porous border,so dumping criminals back to their home countries is just a free bus ticket home and nothing more. It has the same effect of just releasing them back onto the street.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

I have no problem with illegals being incarcerated. Illegals should be incarcerated at least 6 months and longer for any additional crimes besides illegal immigration before being deported. Being an illegal does not exempt them from punishment.

By and large, when you're talking about illegal immigrants, you're talking about people who are desperate enough about bettering their situation that they'll sneak over a boarder or permit themselves to be packed into the human equivalent of sardine tins and smuggled through a port. In other words, hardship isn't going to convince them to change their behavior, and they don't think that finding work which permits them to support their family back home is the least bit immoral.

As such, your plan to punish (and the BOP's supposed mission of rehabilitation) completely and utterly fails.

Maybe if we treat the root causes of the problem, rather than the symptoms alone, we might make some actual progress.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

If anything is a waste it is releasing an illegal without serving any jail time or releasing an illegal before they completely serve out their sentence. I realizing that to you pro-illegals believe that illegal immigration should not be a crime and that illegals who commit crimes other than illegal immigration should not be serving time behind bars. We have a porous border,so dumping criminals back to their home countries is just a free bus ticket home and nothing more. It has the same effect of just releasing them back onto the street.

Nice job trying to paint me as a stereotypical pro-illegal liberal. Unfortunately, you've got it completely wrong. I'm not in favor of illegal immigration. I'm absolutely in favor of jailing illegals who have committed other crimes. I'm simply not in favor of jailing people whose only crime was immigrating illegally, at least not until we've taken other steps to combat the problem. Simply putting them in prison for a couple of months then setting them free across the border doesn't do anything to combat the problem long-term and costs us a lot of money. Money which could be spent on more effective methods of solving the illegal immigration problem. Once we have actually taken effective steps to stop illegals from coming over and get rid of the ones who are here, then I might consider supporting putting illegal immigrants in prison. Until then, I stand by my statement that it's a waste of money.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

By and large, when you're talking about illegal immigrants, you're talking about people who are desperate enough about bettering their situation that they'll sneak over a boarder or permit themselves to be packed into the human equivalent of sardine tins and smuggled through a port. In other words, hardship isn't going to convince them to change their behavior, and they don't think that finding work which permits them to support their family back home is the least bit immoral.

As such, your plan to punish (and the BOP's supposed mission of rehabilitation) completely and utterly fails.

Jail time is a deterrent. Illegals do not like jails.
http://www.debatepolitics.com/archi...-streamline-model-tighter-border-control.html


Maybe if we treat the root causes of the problem,
If you mean those who hire illegals then I agree.After all it takes two to tango. So the illegals should not be the only ones punished. Those who hire illegals should face the same punishments that drug dealers, mobsters and other criminals who profit from and or use their money for illegal activities. Which is subject them to prison time, assess seizure and forfeiture and a loss of licenses.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

Nice job trying to paint me as a stereotypical pro-illegal liberal. Unfortunately, you've got it completely wrong. I'm not in favor of illegal immigration. I'm absolutely in favor of jailing illegals who have committed other crimes. I'm simply not in favor of jailing people whose only crime was immigrating illegally, at least not until we've taken other steps to combat the problem. Simply putting them in prison for a couple of months then setting them free across the border doesn't do anything to combat the problem long-term and costs us a lot of money. Money which could be spent on more effective methods of solving the illegal immigration problem. Once we have actually taken effective steps to stop illegals from coming over and get rid of the ones who are here, then I might consider supporting putting illegal immigrants in prison. Until then, I stand by my statement that it's a waste of money.


There is success in jailing illegals before deporting them. Just deporting them without any jail time is just a free bus ticket home and nothing more.
DHS Launches
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American


From what you posted there, it reads like those who would cross the border got smart and started doing it elsewhere.

That doesn't mean that jail time is a deterrant -- it means they're not interested in going to jail, so they'll cross elsewhere to avoid apprehension.

assess seizure

When the Feds take your assets in that manner, they do it well before trial. It hampers a defendant's ability to vigorously defend themselves.

Unconstitutional. It disgusts me that they've gotten away with it for this long.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

There is success in jailing illegals before deporting them. Just deporting them without any jail time is just a free bus ticket home and nothing more.
DHS Launches

I feel like there are a lot better ways to go about it. I suppose I could be wrong though. Do you have any data to support the efficacy of jailing illegals before deporting them?
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

I feel like there are a lot better ways to go about it. I suppose I could be wrong though. Do you have any data to support the efficacy of jailing illegals before deporting them?

The illegals practically stopped going through Del Rio haven't they? SO why wouldn't it work anywhere else? Just because the countries illegals come from are **** holes does not mean illegals love or hate jail or prison any more than the rest of us.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

From what you posted there, it reads like those who would cross the border got smart and started doing it elsewhere.

That doesn't mean that jail time is a deterrant -- it means they're not interested in going to jail, so they'll cross elsewhere to avoid apprehension.

So in other words 6 months in jail or longer did deter illegals from going through Del Rio.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

Right, so they'll just go through elsewhere. My point is that you can't say this works when their choices are:

A) Cross where they're likely to get caught and spend 6 months in jail
B) Cross where they're not likely to get caught

They're going to choose B every freaking time. They'd have to be ignorant of the situation to choose A.

The real test would be when there's that kind of enforcement all along the border, and they have no choice but to cross where they're likely to get caught -- that would be when you learn how effective enforcement is.

Which is why, of course, we'll never do that. :lol:
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

Right, so they'll just go through elsewhere. My point is that you can't say this works when their choices are:

A) Cross where they're likely to get caught and spend 6 months in jail
B) Cross where they're not likely to get caught

They're going to choose B every freaking time. They'd have to be ignorant of the situation to choose A.

The real test would be when there's that kind of enforcement all along the border, and they have no choice but to cross where they're likely to get caught -- that would be when you learn how effective enforcement is.

This. It's hard to tell whether the enforcement was really all that effective, since it may have just moved the problem elsewhere, rather than actually stopping it. Don't get me wrong. If there were hard data that said that jailing illegal immigrants for a short time before deporting them is the most cost effective way to deal with the problem, then I'd be all for it. I just have a sneaking suspicion that it isn't.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

Right, so they'll just go through elsewhere. My point is that you can't say this works when their choices are:

A) Cross where they're likely to get caught and spend 6 months in jail
B) Cross where they're not likely to get caught

They're going to choose B every freaking time. They'd have to be ignorant of the situation to choose A.

The real test would be when there's that kind of enforcement all along the border, and they have no choice but to cross where they're likely to get caught -- that would be when you learn how effective enforcement is.


Again this still proves that jail time is a deterrent. Because despite being crammed in like sardines as you claimed and shipped over here from a **** hole 3rd world country nobody likes jail.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

I'll say it again... wasting the resources of the system pursuing individuals is completely pointless. It's trying to plug a leak whose source is business, not these demonized humans trying to cross an imaginary border. Some jail time might make sense as a deterrent, but not long-term. It's a waste of our money. Send them home or better yet start heavily fining businesses who are employing them.

Obama has fined some major businesses $12 million in his entire administration. That is nothing to a multinational corporation. The fines should be super steep. But then, the government doesn't truly care about illegal immigration. It's just a buzz topic to distract the masses from what's really going on, which is why they are not enacting harsher penalties.

The priorities of the American people are really messed up right now.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

Again this still proves that jail time is a deterrent. Because despite being crammed in like sardines as you claimed and shipped over here from a **** hole 3rd world country nobody likes jail.

It proves that they'd rather do what won't get them caught rather than what will get them caught. It doesn't prove that they wouldn't run the risk just get into the country if our enforcement was equally good everywhere.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

What a waste of money.
so is our defence budget if we can't even keep out that many illegals how well are we keeping this country safe with the money we spend on defence? where does that money go again?
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

According to the OP...
A DOJ spokesman told independent news outlet CNSNews.com that the latest data available shows that “average annual operating costs per state inmate for Fiscal Year 2001 was $22,650; in the Federal Bureau of Prisons it was $22,632.”

I wonder what it would cost to simply deport them, as opposed to incarcerate them? Anyone seen numbers on that?
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

According to the OP...


I wonder what it would cost to simply deport them, as opposed to incarcerate them? Anyone seen numbers on that?

A lot less, but the problem is that they will keep coming back.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

Nice job trying to paint me as a stereotypical pro-illegal liberal. Unfortunately, you've got it completely wrong. I'm not in favor of illegal immigration. I'm absolutely in favor of jailing illegals who have committed other crimes. I'm simply not in favor of jailing people whose only crime was immigrating illegally, at least not until we've taken other steps to combat the problem. Simply putting them in prison for a couple of months then setting them free across the border doesn't do anything to combat the problem long-term and costs us a lot of money. Money which could be spent on more effective methods of solving the illegal immigration problem. Once we have actually taken effective steps to stop illegals from coming over and get rid of the ones who are here, then I might consider supporting putting illegal immigrants in prison. Until then, I stand by my statement that it's a waste of money.

Perhaps we should tattoo them, and/or insert a computer chip before flipping them.

U.S. Worsens Mexican Violence by Returning Criminal Aliens to Border Cities, Mayors Say - FoxNews.com
A coalition of Mexican mayors has asked the United States to stop deporting illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes in the U.S. to Mexican border cities, saying the deportations are contributing to Mexican border violence.
They encourage illegal immigration to the US, and then have the gall to complain about where we dump the refuse?
Sorry... you want them out of the border towns... do it yourself; they've cost us enough already.

Tattoos and/or computer chips?

.
 
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Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

Perhaps we should tattoo them, and/or insert a computer chip before flipping them.

I would assume that they are already fingerprinted when they're deported/put in prison. That seems like it's a good enough method of identifying multiple offenders.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

A lot less, but the problem is that they will keep coming back.

This is why simply deporting illegals is nothing more than just a free bus ticket home instead of a actual punishment or deterrent. Simply deporting them says "hey want to visit family but you are too broke or cheap to buy a plane ticket or bus ticket home, then get the government to pay for your trip home.}
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

I have no problem with illegals being incarcerated. Illegals should be incarcerated at least 6 months and longer for any additional crimes besides illegal immigration before being deported. Being an illegal does not exempt them from punishment.

if they haven't committed serious felonies, i say deport them immediately. punishment enough, and it saves us a boatload.
 
Re: $6.7 Billion Every Year: What the Incarceration of Illegal Aliens Costs American

if they haven't committed serious felonies,

Trespassing into another country, ID fraud and various other offenses should be considered serious offenses.

i say deport them immediately.

We have a porous border so deportation is nothing more than a free trip home,so they will be back just as soon as they were deported. Besides that being here illegally should not entitle them to get off scott free for committing various crimes.

punishment enough, and it saves us a boatload.
They will just return as soon as they are deported.So it will not save a boatload.
 
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