Van Tran wants state to check immigration status of prisoners

Assemblyman Van Tran has introduced a bill that would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations to verify the immigration status of any new prisoner taken into state custody.

The bill, which would require correctional officers to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal law, is aimed at reducing the state costs Tran sees related to the state’s influx of illegal immigration.

A Vietnamese immigrant himself, Tran says prison costs could be cut tremendously by deporting, instead of detaining, such criminals.

“This bill will ensure that these illegal immigrant criminals will be properly verified and reported,” he said in a news release.

Tran cites a similar program in Arizona, where the prison population is approximately 20% of California’s. There, according to Tran, the state has saved nearly $3 million in the first six months of the program.

“Step one is to get these criminal felons out of our country,” Tran said. “Step two is to complete the California-Mexico border fence…so that these criminals can never return to victimize our neighbors.”

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.