Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bacasper]

So what if they'll be out of the jurisdiction of the Constitution?

Send California inmates to Mexico, says Schwarzenegger

Mon Jan 25, 8:45 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) � Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested California could ease its crowded prison system by sending thousands of undocumented inmates to specially built jails in Mexico.

Speaking to reporters at the Sacramento Press Club, Schwarzenegger said California could ease its strained finances by a billion dollars if 20,000 illegal immigrants currently held in the state were housed across the border.

"I think that we can do so much better in the prison system alone if we can go and take, inmates for instance, the 20,000 inmates that are illegal immigrants that are here and get them to Mexico," Schwarzenegger said.

"Think about it -- if California gives Mexico the money. Not 'Hey, you take care of them, these are your citizens'. No. Not at all.

"We pay them to build the prison down in Mexico. And then we have those undocumented immigrants down there in prison. It would half the costs to build the prison and run the prison. We could save a billion dollars right there that could go into higher education."

Schwarzenegger's remarks come as California prepares for the latest in a long line of state budget crises.

Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency earlier this month, warning severe cuts were necessary to stem a 19.9-billion-dollar deficit.

California has some of the most overcrowded prisons in the United States, with an estimated 170,000 inmates housed in facilities designed for 100,000 people, according to 2007 figures.

Schwarzenegger said he believed the financial burden of California's prisons could be eased if the private sector moved into the industry.

"I think that there is no reason why we should have just state employees and public prisons," Schwarzenegger said. "Why shouldn't we have private prisons and private prisons competing with public prisons?

"I don't want to go and get rid of public prisons, not at all. It's not an attack on their labor union even though they may take it as such.

[Captain Corea]

Are the citizens or residents?

If not, I'm fine with them being deported - in whatever form.

[Fox]

How about instead of trying to think up schemes to save money on prisons, we save money by simply locking fewer people up? Taking drugs out of the area of criminal offense alone would have a substantial impact. I'd also be partial to the idea of no longer sending white collar criminals to jail. There are ways to punish them that don't involve making tax payers pay for them, and they don't actually present a danger to others. There are a number of ways we could sanction such individuals without sending them to prison.

Prison shouldn't be about punishment, it should be about public safety.

[ytuque]

[geldedgoat]

California's positions on illegal immigration have always confused me. Turn a blind eye to the guy working his ass off to keep our domestic goods cheap? In the short term, sure, why not. Yeah, he's taking advantage of our system (as are we), but at least he's contributing to our society. Offer him a driver's license? Now you're using state funds to help him get around immigration laws. If that's the route you're taking, why have those immigration laws in the first place? Imprison him in US jails for crimes committed in the US (not including his illegal entry)? Now we have an individual who has illegally entered our country and proven himself to be a detriment to our society by committing additional crimes within our borders (and likely against our citizens), and you're going to waste vast amounts of state funds to lock him up in US jails instead of deporting him?

[ytuque]

[geldedgoat]

[Fox]

Probably because few politicians really want to stop illegal immigration. It's just a talking point conservatives use to rally their base and distract from real issues. Hiring illegal aliens has all the benefits of exporting jobs, with few of the downsides. The only Americans actually hurt by illegal immigration are the people in the extreme lower class who might have been hired in their place, and needless to say, they aren't exactly a powerful voting block from a political perspective.

[ytuque]

[pkang0202]

[Fox]

[Street Magic]

[Fox]

[conrad2]

Whats to stop a white collar criminal if he knows beforehand that worse case scenario he just has to give the money back? Prison is a powerful deterrent.

[pkang0202]