A step in the right direction

Texas is hoping to save millions of dollars starting this week when a new law could get some foreigners out of state prisons and back to their home countries.
But, if the state can deport them, why spend the resources to prosecute and house them in the first place?
To put it simply: Foreigners are housed in Texas prisons rather than being immediately deported because they have to be held accountable for the crimes they commit in the United States, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons. Once their sentences are completed, they are expected to return to their home country, she added.
"If you came here illegally, you still have the constitutional protections of our country," Orange County District Attorney John Kimbrough explained. "On the other side, there's responsibilities. If you rape or kill someone or drive intoxicated and kill somebody, you pay the consequences."
The state will prosecute the offender here rather than releasing the person from prison and sending him or her home because in a way, that would be like letting the person go unpunished, Kimbrough said.
The new law, which takes effect Thursday, will allow the parole board to approve convicts for parole on the condition that they are deported. It covers foreigners convicted of both violent and nonviolent crimes.


Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/government/article/Law-allowing-deportation-for-foreign-prisoners-2147150.php#ixzz1WWkXe6QA