By Associated Press
Boley, OK – 22 inmates scheduled for deportation
BOLEY, Okla. (AP) Nearly two dozen illegal inmates in state prison are being turned over to federal authorities for deportation.
A group of 22 inmates are scheduled to be transferred Thursday from the John Lilley Correctional Center near Boley to officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Twenty of the inmates are from Mexico, one is from Guatemala and one is from El Salvador. They range in age from 20 to 61, and most have been convicted of drug crimes.
The inmates are eligible for transfer under a new state law that requires inmates be imprisoned for a nonviolent offense and already have served at least one-third of their prison sentence.
Prison officials say a total of 181 inmates currently meet the criteria for deportation. So far, 32 have been turned over to customs agents.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.