§1365 Reimbursement of States for Costs of Incarcerating Illegal Aliens and Certain Cuban Nationals

Summary

The Attorney General must repay a State for the costs the State spends to lock up someone the State convicts of a felony if that person is an illegal alien or a certain Cuban national, but only when Congress has provided the money ahead of time. Illegal alien: a person convicted of a felony who was in the U.S. illegally and either last entered without inspection or came in on a temporary visa and stayed past the allowed time or whose illegal status was known to the government before the crime. Marielito Cuban: a Cuban who was allowed into the U.S. in 1980, later was jailed for violating state or local law, and was not lawfully admitted as a resident or visa-holder at arrival and at the time of the offense. State: defined by 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(36). Congress has authorized whatever sums are needed to carry this out.