Coeur D''Alene, ID (AP) -- Idaho Gov. C.L. ''Butch'' Otter wants federal judges to help change the way Idaho inmates from foreign countries go through the legal system so that the state can save money.
Otter last week sent a letter to U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise asking that federal deportation hearings be held before state parole hearings.
''Potentially we see this as a cost savings for taxpayers, and also a more effective use of resources,'' Otter spokesman Jon Hanian told the Coeur d''Alene Press.
''It would greatly enhance our ability to make appropriate parole decisions if the federal immigration hearing was conducted before a parole hearing,'' Otter wrote.
He said that would allow the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole ''to determine the best course of action for the inmate, victim and society.''
And he said the Idaho Department of Correction could save money by not placing inmates in certain programs such as drug or alcohol treatment when those inmates will eventually be deported.
''That, and we may be looking for opportunities to get them out of the system altogether and back to the countries of origin,'' Hanian said. ''What we''d like to do is have a discussion about this process. We are reaching out to him (Judge Winmill) to begin that discussion so that he can involve other federal judges who don''t reside in the state of Idaho who may have impact on this decision.''
Winmill, through a spokesman, said he could not comment on the letter because he is presiding over several immigration cases, creating a conflict of interest.
Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, said he has been pushing to cut funding that he said supports illegal immigrants, and that''s what spurred Otter to write the letter to Winmill.
Jorgenson said there are 355 foreign nationals in Idaho prisons costing the state more than $7 million a year.
''The issue is simply this: Foreign nationals are incarcerated, then when they''re released, they''re going to be deported, and we''re spending a lot of money to put them through a therapy that''s for naught,'' Jorgenson said. ''It''s not going to be any benefit to Idaho to invest all this money in them when we deport them when their sentences end.''
It''s unclear how much money the state could save if Otter''s recommendations are followed.
''It really depends on the inmate,'' said David Hensley, legal counsel to the governor. ''Some treatment and programming is more expensive than others. I can tell you drug treatment, alcohol treatment, behavioral changes, those treatments vary in costs and some of it can be extensive.''
He also said there are other factors to consider.
''When they''re convicted of crimes in the state of Idaho, people in the state are owed retribution or restitution, whether it is just the knowledge that this person has served their time for this crime,'' Hensley said. ''What it really boils down to is if they''re going to be deported, do we deport them prior to their full sentence, and what resources do we expend?''
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