The problem of mass incarceration doesn’t stop with American citizens, and some states are spending in the millions each year on detained immigrants. BBC’s Valeria Perasso discusses a report by the US Government Accountability Office, which says that U.S. jails are filled with foreign prisoners—seven out of ten being Mexican:

In total, foreigners make up more than 25% of the US prison population…           

The GAO estimates that foreign prisoners cost US taxpayers up to $1.6bn per year...                                                                                                                                                            

Tim Donnelly, a Republican in the California State Assembly, says California spends $885 million each year on "undocumented prisoners"…

He argues that "the federal government is not doing its job of deporting these criminals to their countries of origin"…

"Some are detained simply because of [a] traffic misdemeanour," Jennifer Allen, of the NGO Borderaction, told the BBC…

"In some states, such as Arizona, a traffic misdemeanour may result in deportation."

Prisons are being packed full of people with marijuana charges and traffic violations. Getting those prisoners in and out, or detained and deported in a proper manner would create much needed space in U.S. prisons.   

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