by John Binder21 Dec 2017Washington, D.C.305

The vast majority of foreign nationals sitting in American federal prisons are illegal aliens, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed in a year-end report.

According to newly released data, nearly 95 percent of all foreign nationals in DOJ custody are illegal aliens in the U.S. In total, there are 58,766 known or suspected foreign nationals in federal prisons at the end of the 2017 Fiscal Year. This includes 39,455 foreign nationals who are in Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody and 19,311 foreign nationals under U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) supervision.

Of the nearly 60,000 known or suspected foreign nationals in federal prisons, approximately 37,557 have already been confirmed to be foreign nationals by the Immigration and Customs (ICE) enforcement. The other more than 21,000 foreign-born inmates are still under ICE investigation.

A total of 35,334 inmates of the 37,557 foreign nationals identified by ICE are illegal aliens, making up nearly 95 percent of all foreign nationals in federal prisons. This includes 92 percent of foreign nationals in BOP custody and 97 percent of foreign nationals in USMS custody.

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that Americans need a national immigration policy that is in the nation’s interest, demanding the Republican-controlled Congress to enact a slew of President Trump’s immigration principles.

Sessions said:

The American people deserve a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest. But at the border and in communities across America, our citizens are being victimized by illegal aliens who commit crimes.

Nearly 95 percent of confirmed aliens in our federal prisons are here illegally. We know based on sentencing data that non-citizens commit a substantially disproportionate number of drug-related offenses, which contributes to our national drug abuse crisis. The simple fact is that any offense committed by a criminal alien is ultimately preventable. One victim is too many. It’s time for Congress to enact the President’s immigration reform agenda so that we start welcoming the best and brightest while turning away drug dealers, gang members, and other criminals.