U.S. to Speed Deportation of Criminals in Jail

From The New York Times:

Federal authorities expect to identify and deport more than 200,000 immigrants this year who are convicted criminals serving time in prisons and jails across the country, the country’s top federal immigration enforcement official said Monday.

The effort to speed the deportation of foreign-born criminals is part of a campaign by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to help federal and state prisons reduce the costs of housing immigrants. . . .

Under current law, immigrants convicted of crimes are deported only after serving their sentences in this country.

[The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will] work with states to devise parole programs allowing immigrants imprisoned for nonviolent crimes to reduce their prison time if they agreed to be deported immediately upon release.