Toll on state prison, parole and probation systems adds up

Corrections officials are sure that at least 7 percent of Nevada's prison inmates were born in a foreign country, but the number of illegal immigrants could be more than double that.

Federal immigration officials have said that there probably are far more than the state has identified because they account for between 22 percent and 32 percent of inmates at other prisons in the southwestern United States, said state Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty, who serves on the state Pardons Board.

Meanwhile, outside prison, about 80 percent of the Spanish-speaking cases handled by parole and probation officers in Southern Nevada involve illegal immigrants.

"It raises the question, at least, of how aware ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is of undocumented immigrants in our prison system," Hardesty said.

For the fiscal year that ended on June 30, Nevada's prisons were budgeted to house 11,896 inmates. However, the system had approximately 13,535, or 14 percent more than anticipated, state Department of Corrections spokesman Greg Smith said.

Partly to free up cell space, corrections officials and the state Division of Parole and Probation are doing more to identify illegal immigrants.

A program launched in April identifies inmates from foreign countries with less than a year on their sentences and makes them eligible for deportation after hearings before the Nevada Parole Board and Pardons Board.

Of 1,100 foreign-born prisoners in the system earlier this year, about 144 inmates have been deported, and another 45 will be considered for early release in September, Smith said.

Also, ICE agents later this year will start visiting prisons weekly to identify illegal immigrant inmates to assure they are deported after serving their sentences, Smith said.

Assembly Bill 510, which Gov. Jim Gibbons signed into law on June 14, is aimed at easing prison overcrowding.

Nonviolent, first-time felons, illegal immigrants included, will be eligible for early release if they have displayed good behavior, Hardesty said.

The annual cost to house an inmate the past fiscal year was $20,636 and will be $21,982 this fiscal year, Smith said. Based on Review-Journal estimates for the past fiscal year, it cost about $22.7 million to house 1,100 inmates. The same number is expected to cost $24.2 million this fiscal year.

When inmates are released and not deported, they usually become the responsibility of parole and probation officials.

ICE doesn't have the manpower to deport all illegal immigrants in the prison system even though some inmates are identified as illegal immigrants before they are sent to prison. As a result they become the responsibility of parole and probation.

Serious criminals might get deported, but parolees convicted of lesser crimes might not.

Of the 160 parole and probation officers stationed in Southern Nevada, six handle Spanish-speaking parolees and probationers, according to officer J.R. Haggerty, department spokesman.

Each handles about 80 cases at a time, and more than 80 percent involve illegal immigrants, he said.

As a result, there are about 384 cases at a time involving illegal immigrants. With an average cost of about $120,000 for each officer this year, based on Review-Journal estimates, the cost of parole officers for illegal immigrants would be about $576,000 annually if the same caseload remained constant throughout the year.

Also, in Southern Nevada, parole and probation officials in June combined their Spanish-speaking officers into one unit, Haggerty said.

"They have the guys in one unit, under one sergeant who speaks Spanish because the need is there because we are talking about a ton of people," Haggerty said. "The need has grown so much it has required us to form a particular team."