Information on Criminal Aliens Incarcerated in Federal and State Prisons and Local Jails

When the United States incarcerates criminal aliens--noncitizens convicted of crimes while in this country legally or illegally--in federal and state prisons and local jails, the federal government bears much of the costs. It pays to incarcerate criminal aliens in federal prisons and reimburses state and local governments for a portion of their costs of incarcerating some, but not all, criminal aliens illegally in the country through the Department of Justice's State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) managed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Some state and local governments have expressed concerns about the impact that criminal aliens have on already overcrowded prisons and jails and that the federal government reimburses them for only a portion of their costs of incarcerating criminal aliens. Congress requested that we provide information concerning criminal aliens incarcerated at the federal, state, and local level. For the criminal aliens incarcerated in federal prisons, and for criminal aliens for which state and local governments received reimbursement through SCAAP, this report addresses the following questions: (1) For recent years, how many criminal aliens were incarcerated? (2) What is the country of citizenship or country of birth of these criminal alien inmates? and (3) What are the estimated costs of incarcerating criminal aliens?