San Diego County District Attorney Up in Arms About Schwarzenegger Proposed Budget Cuts
Bonnie Dumanis, the San Diego County District Attorney, spoke out recently about budget cuts proposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to Dumanis, the Governor is considering commuting the sentence of illegal aliens incarcerated in State Prisons and turning them over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. I think the Governor is spot-on with this proposal.
Many people do not realize that there are immigration consequences for criminal activity. Non-citizens face the prospect of deportation or non-admissibility for many crimes. Aggravated felonies are among the list of crimes which typically result in deportation. When a non-citizen is arrested for a crime with immigration consequences, an ICE hold is usually put in place. This hold will prevent the individual from bailing-out. They'll have to wait in jail until their case is heard. Once there is a disposition in the case and the defendant has served their time, ICE will pick him up and hold him at an ICE facility pending a deportation hearing.
By commuting the sentences of non-citizens held in California Prisons, the Governor will effectively transfer the financial burden of incarcerating a large number of inmates to the federal government - and then eventually to the country from which the inmate came. Dumanis's objection is that these individuals will make their way back to the streets of America. That's not an argument for shedding the burden of incarcerating non-citizens, its an argument for bolstering border security. Housing non-citizens who have committed crimes in this country is a form of foreign aid we simply cannot afford. Kick them out and let the Feds spend the money to keep them out.
Its not like these people will not be deported eventually. Very few non-citizens incarcerated in prison will prevail at their ICE hearings after their state prison term runse its course. And most of those that would prevail will also prevail if their sentences were commuted immediately. The impact on non-citizens that should not be deported would be minimal.
We talk about all the ways illegal immigrants cost California billions of dollars: health care, schools, lost jobs - here's an area with a built-in federally subsidized solution that has the potential to be very effective. If we're concerned about re-entry of deported ex-convicts, then we should stiffen the sentence for illegal re-entry and make that offense ineligible for commuting.
I understand that the D.A. wants to maintain control of these people's lives, but control costs money. The system needs to shrink to handle what it can afford to handle. Its not like the California Department of Corrections has ever made a person better.
If you have been charged with a crime in San Diego, and you are not a U.S. citizen, you need to work with a San Diego criminal defense attorney who is familiar with the immigration consequences of the crimes you are charged with. Call now to arrange a free consultation.
