I assume you are just talking California, not the entire nation. I don't have time to look up the official stats right now, but most politely, I'd suggest that you may be confusing some stats here.
I could buy the statement that 40% of inmates in California are Hispanic due to the large Hispanic population there and the number of very dangerous home grown street/drug gangs throughout the state. But I can not believe that 40% of the total inmates in CA prisons are illegals.
Could it be that you got some numbers jumbled and that what you are saying is that 40% of all Hispanic inmates in California are illegals? That would be a far more reasonable possibility.
But I can not believe that 40% of the total inmates in CA prisons are illegals.
Yes, I do mean California. If you go back to my post (#247), I cited US justice dept. figures that show that the illegals comprise more than 50% of the California inmate population are illegals. That number alone is over 108,000.
(http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/27/114208.shtml)
It is only common sense to assume that if you count hispanics who are not illegal the total number of hispanics, legal plus illegal comprise a much larger number than 50%. I don't think my numbers are jumbled at all. Living and working in Los Angeles, it is obvious to all how large the hispanic population is here.