State to be paid for jailed aliens

CARSON CITY -- The U.S. Department of Justice is going to send $2.5 million to the state to offset the cost of holding illegal aliens in the Nevada prison system.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Tuesday she has signed the award documents to get the money for an estimated 167 undocumented aliens confined in the prison. Her office applied for the grant under the 1998 State Criminal Alien Assistance Programs.

"This funding will help to partially reimburse the state of Nevada for the tremendous financial burden of incarcerating illegal criminal aliens," she said. In fiscal 1998, it cost $15,851 per inmate.

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