Oklahoma City - A bill that could result in swift deportation of illegal aliens currently in state prisons has passed in the state Senate.

House Bill 2245 passed with a vote of 43 to 0 in the Senate Thursday morning. The bill would create the "Oklahoma Criminal Illegal Alien Rapid Repatriation Act of 2009".

The act would allow the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to immediately send inmates who are in the country illegally to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

The bill applies only to criminals who are in prison for non-violent crimes who have served at least half of their sentence.

"The people of Oklahoma should not have to pay the tab for the federal government’s failures," said the bill's author, Randy Terrill after its unanimous passage in the House last month. "The Criminal Illegal Alien Rapid Repatriation Act will shift the financial burden of imprisoning these inmates to the federal government and save the state more than $3 million."

Terrill says there are currently more than five hundred illegal immigrants in state prisons and that nearly 70-percent of them are eligible for the proposed deportation program.

The state currently pays about 20-thousand dollars per year to house each inmate.

House Bill 2245 now returns to the House for final consideration.

 Email To Friend