Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Deporting of Foreign Criminals to Begin

Two dozen foreign criminals will be released from Florida prisons and handed over to federal authorities for deportation today, the governor and immigration authorities in Miami said. The deportations are the first scheduled under an unprecedented agreement between Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Justice Department. To make more room for violent criminals in Florida’s crowded prisons, nonviolent prisoners who entered the United States illegally will have their sentences commuted if they agree to be deported. Immigration officials said 113 prisoners from 16 countries have agreed. Many were serving time for drug crimes.