The federal government is spending more than $1.5 billion each year to jail illegal immigrants throughout the country, according to a new report by the investigative arm of Congress.
The report, issued this week by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that over the past five fiscal years the number of incarcerated non-U.S. citizens in federal prisons has increased by 4,000, to about 55,000. In state prisons, the criminal alien population has increased by about 75,000 people, for a total of 296,000.
The federal government repays states some of the cost of incarcerating undocumented immigrants through the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.
Full story: GAO: $1.5B to jail unlawful immigrants