Mr. SMITH of Texas. No plans to reduce or cut back in any way then?

Mr. SHAW. No, sir. And the amount that you asked for was, as of March 31, 1989, $1,648,000 had been collected by the Service.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Thank you. Appreciate that.

Commissioner, also in your testimony you talked about criminal aliens. I have read statistics, I don't know if they are true or not. But do you have any information as to the percentage of—in, say, let's pick cities like Los Angeles and Houston as two examples. What percentage of the individuals incarcerated in those cities are illegal aliens?

Mr. NELSON. I don't have those figures, Mr. Smith, although I will answer generally and maybe Mr. Costa or others can respond, and we will certainly provide what we have to you on that.

Certainly a significant number in those large cities are aliens. Mr. SMITH of Texas. I have heard 25 percent in Houston. Do you think that could be accurate?

Mr. NELSON. That could well be accurate. I have heard similar figures and I think for a ballpark that that is probably——

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Can you get me the figures for the larger cities?

on.

Mr. NELSON. We will.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Los Angeles, maybe Miami, Houston, and so

Mr. NELSON. All right.

[The information follows:]

The following information was provided subsequent to the hearing:

IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE

Illegal Aliens Incarcerated in Major Cities

At this time, there is no reliable data upon which to base an accurate estimate of the number of illegal aliens incarcerated in detention facilities in major cities (or the percentage of total populations incarcerated). There are several reasons for this: 1. City jail populations are in a constant state of flux. This is due to a number of factors: volume of charges for lesser offenses, lack of detention space, low bonds and high rates of dismissed and/or failed appearance cases.

2.

3.

4.

5.

There are no uniform, formalized requirements for municipal police departments to report to the Service suspected aliens placed under arrest for the commission of crimes.

No centralized database or tracking system exists within INS to receive notifications from law enforcement entities and provide appropriate, timely Service responses. (An antiquated, paper-based, notification exists (G-340). The system is of little value in the high volume, transient city jail environment. An automated INS system is under development to address this data need.)

No formal agreements exist between the Service and local authorities to permit acceptance of Service detainers, automated or otherwise.

There is no standard, adeguate, terminology employed by arresting agencies at city, state and national levels to denote alienage.

More reliable data is provided by enlarging the scope of the subcommittee question to include larger population centers and detention facilities (county, state and federal). The inmate populations within those institutions remain fairly constant, owing to the seriousness of offenses committed and lengthier sentences. The picture which emerges from this enlarged perspective documents the extent of criminal alien activity occuring in the United States.

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the Department of Justice entity with responsibility for the custody of federally sentenced prisioners, maintains fairly accurate data concerning alien inmates. Latest available BOP figures reflect a total population of 47,000, and an alien inmate population of 11,500, or 24 percent. This figure represents an increase over a September

1988 census, when alien inmates totalled 20.6 percent of the BOP population.

Examination of statistics maintained by state penal institutions is similarly informative. Border states and states having historically higher concentrations of foreign populations have a higher incidence of incarcerated aliens. However, no further correlation between demographic composition and alien criminal activity has been determined. While the state statistics diverge considerably from the federal inmate figures, they reflect a significant incidence of criminal alien activity.

Texas

The Texas Department of Corrections (TDC) requires determination of place of birth during classification. TDC reports a prison population of 41,002 as of April 30, 1989. Of that population, 6,245, or 15 percent, are foreign born. Service data consistently reflect that 85 percent of TDC foreign born prisoners are deportable.

California

For

The California Department of Corrections' statistics reveal a total population of 80,721. Declared foreign born inmates number 9,432, or 11+ percent. Additionally, some more localized information is available from regions within California. example, in San Diego County, five facilities contain a total of 3,004 inmates. Of that total, 1,278, or 42 percent, have identified themselves as foreign born. The San Diego Police Department reports that 16 percent of its felony arrests involve aliens, and the San Diego County Sheriff documents that 30 percent of all county arrests involve aliens.

Florida

The figures available for the State of Florida appear anomalous in that they fail to depict the high concentration of its foreign born population and status as a border state. In addition, the Florida statistics contain inaccurate data, as state correction officials have inaccurately included Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as foreign places of birth. The Florida example, therefore, illustrates the inherent problems of tracking criminal aliens previously noted. The total Florida penal system population is 38,400; 2,304, or six percent, are believed to be foreign born. No accurate statistics for Miami or Dade County

exist at this time.

Illinois

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) currently reflects a population of 21,700 prisoners. An estimated 1,000, or about four percent of that total, are believed to be foreign born. In the Cook County Jail (which includes Chicago), out of a

population of approximately 6,000, 18 percent are believed to be foreign born.

New York

Figures for the State of New York reflect a total inmate

population of 46,594, of which 5,412, or 11.6 percent, indicate foreign place of birth.

New York City jails average 18,000 prisoners at any given time. For reasons cited at the outset such as volume and jail population flux, a reliable statistical estimate concerning percentage of aliens in inmate populations is not available.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Also in your testimony you talk about apprehensions of aliens at the border being down 16 percent, and that the employers' sanctions program appears to be a key factor in the apprehension deadline. We have heard testimony before this subcommittee that one explanation is that individuals have gone underground. They are still coming across in relatively the same numbers but they have underground and so are not apprehended and not counted. Do you think that is an adequate explanation? Or do you think the real numbers have actually declined?

Mr. NELSON. We think the numbers have actually declined. Again, we are talking about apprehension numbers. We are not talking about those who got through. There is no, there never has been and probably never will be a way to determine the actual number getting across. But there has always been a pretty good rule of thumb that apprehensions relate to the flow. The fact we have had an increase in Border Patrol out there, better equipment centers, and so forth, and the fact the number is down probably give us an opportunity to detect a higher percentage than we might have otherwise.

So we believe the flow as reflected by these figures has reduced. Again, it is still significant. When you are up close to a million people that is still a very significant number. But we do believe there has, in fact, been a reduction in numbers coming. With the exception, as noted, of the Central Americans, where there had been an increase, but that is a small percent of the total.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Chairman, let me ask a couple more questions, then I will yield-I know that we have a colleague here, and then I would like to return, if I may, in a few minutes.

Commissioner Nelson, in regard to the INS telephone verification pilot program, what can you tell me about that? Is that automated system working? Is it useful? And what are your feelings about it?

Mr. NELSON. Again, I do think that is useful.

Ms. MCRAE. It is moving along very successfully.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. It is in two cities now?

Ms. MCRAE. I think so.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. OK. And it is working successfully. Are you going to recommend wider use, more extensive use of the pilot program or not?

Ms. MCRAE. The program is now in a prototype version in several cities. We are waiting for the analysis of the cost and benefits before we decide whether to continue or not. It looks very nice. It looks very effective.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Is there any additional money in the budget for additional sites or expansion of the program?

Ms. MCRAE. Not at this time; no.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Why is that if it is working so well?

Ms. MCRAE. As the Commissioner has explained, there are bal

ances between what you do and what you can't do.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. And you do not consider this to be a high priority?

Ms. MCRAE. There are balances that we have to meet.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. OK. All right. Thank you.