Homeland secretary wants criminal aliens out of US

[January 30, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says if you're a criminal and you're not entitled to be in the United States, she wants you out of the country.

Napolitano wants what she calls "criminal aliens" off American streets. She is looking at existing immigration enforcement programs to see if taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck.

Napolitano, whose job includes overseeing immigration laws, says she also will go after criminal fugitives who are illegally in the country.

Officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement say about 201,000 criminals illegally in the U.S. were deported last year.

[Associated Press; By EILEEN SULLIVAN]

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