A RIDER attached to the budget bill that was signed into law last week now makes it possible to transfer foreign national prisoners convicted on Guam through the inclusion of the island in the International Prisoner Transfer Program.

The program began in 1977 when the U.S. government negotiated the first in a series of treaties to permit the transfer of prisoners from countries in which they had been convicted of crimes to their home countries.

The program has on its listing, in addition to several countries, all 50 states and territories with the exception of Guam.

Now that the prisoner transfer bill has been signed into law by the governor through his approval of the budget bill, Calvo now has the authority to give his consent to transfer a prisoner to their home country or jurisdiction based on recommendations made by the Department of Corrections director and the Attorney General of Guam.

The rider was actually Bill 469-31, introduced by co-sponsors Sens. Sam Mabini and Adolpho Palacios, to allow the program to be implemented on Guam and to designate DOC as the lead agency in setting up the guidelines.

The measure was introduced earlier but Gov. Eddie Calvo vetoed the bill for, among other reasons, not giving him authority to approve of the prisoner's transfer.

It also generated some controversy including the perception that it may be racially discriminatory in nature because many of the DOC inmates come from the Federated States of Micronesia.

Currently, about 184 out of around 600 inmates and detainees (31 percent) are foreign nationals, predominantly from the FSM.

But ironically, the program is designed to relieve some of the special hardships that fall upon offenders incarcerated far from home, and to facilitate the rehabilitation of these offenders. In fact, DOC Director Jose San Agustin said one DOC inmate from the FSM has already expressed interest about availing of the program.

The prisoner transfer program is actually a win-win type of program.

On the one hand, the program could save money for GovGuam by transferring foreign national prisoners serving sentences on Guam to their state of origin.

The program could also reduce the population in the DOC adult detention facilities by transferring FSM offenders to their home states. Absent any increase in Compact Impact funding for Guam, this is one way of mitigating the social costs of Micronesian migration to Guam.

On the other hand, the prisoner transfer program is also a humane treatment option for FSM offenders, especially newer migrants who may still be undergoing culture shock on Guam.

By having the option to be transferred to their home states, FSM offenders may be rehabilitated better if they are among their own people and living under their own culture and set of rules.

The prison transfer program can also serve as an indirect warning to potential FSM migrants that moving to Guam is a privilege, not a right – and that breaking Guam’s laws would result in their being deported and not enjoying the economic benefits and other advantages of living on Guam.