The government of Florida is exchanging thirty Mariel Cubans convicted of murder and other violent felonies since arriving in American and currently incarcerated in Florida with the federal government for thirty non-violent federal offenders. Most of the Mariel Cubans are serving life sentences, whereas the prisoners they were exchanged for are serving much shorter terms.

The end result of this arrangement is that Florida will save about $130,000 a year, for a total of about ten million dollars.

The impetus for this deal was the immigration crisis during the summer of 1994 in which as many as 2000 people a day attempted to cross from Cuba to Florida. The then governor of Florida, Lawton Chiles (who died a few weeks ago), felt the federal government was not dealing with the problem of illegal immigration in an effective manner. One of the new rules his administration created called for the deportation of non-violent offenders to reduce the burden on the state prison system. The new plan is likewise designed to reduce that burden.

Florida has twice attempted to sue the federal government to reclaim money it has expended on dealing with illegal immigration. Although both suits were rejected, they have increased the focus on illegal immigration. According to the special counsel for Gov. Chiles, illegal immigration is "a national problem, and the cost relating to that national problem should not be borne by Florida taxpayers alone."