The number of criminal aliens incarcerated in California rose to 102,795 in 2009, a 17% increase since 2003

Nationwide, the Government Accountability Office reports, it costs well over $1.1 billion a year for states to imprison criminal aliens - those who committed a crime after entering the United States illegally. More than one in four of the illegal immigrants imprisoned in California are behind bars for drug offenses. Many are also repeat offenders. GAO auditors say that, based on a survey, criminal alien inmates have been arrested an average of seven different times.