Time for Incarcerated Illegals to Go, Rep. Nardolillo Says

COVENTRY, RI—The state pays $49 million annually on prison inmates, according to State Rep. Bobby Nardolillo. No one knows exactly how many of the undocumented are in the prison population, but Nardolillo (R-District 28 Coventry) says it's time to find out and deport anyone in the U.S. illegally.

"The cost of incarcerating an inmate here in Rhode Island is the fifth highest in the nation," according to Nardolillo. "Furthermore, there is currently no way to determine how many legal or illegal inmates reside in our prison system, so we have no idea how much money taxpayers are paying to support illegal immigrants who have committed minor to heinous crimes in Rhode Island. What I do know is, incarcerating and paying for illegal immigrants in our prison system is taxing our resources. This is an unsustainable system. Plainly put, we simply cannot afford this any longer.”

He has introduced legislation to save the taxpayers money and protect the citizens, he said.

Under his proposal, the sheriff's departments would be taxed with determining the immigration status of anyone in their custody.

"If it is determined a prisoner is here illegally, the Sheriff’s Department will be required to inform the Immigration and Naturalization Service," he said. "In addition, the Sheriff’s Department will also be required to cooperate with any deportation proceedings or with the commencement of any such deportation proceedings."

The bottom line, he said, is "hardworking taxpayers can no longer be on the hook to pay for the high cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants.”