MashGet

U.S. authorities are announcing Tuesday that they will explore housing some illegal immigrants in converted hotels and nursing homes as they seek to turn a prison-based immigration detention system in to one tiered according to the risk posed by individual detainees.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and John Morton, assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, planned an announcement early Tuesday afternoon to discuss restructuring the nation's much-criticized immigration holding system, which has tripled in size since 1995 and houses about 400,000 people a year.

According to department materials prepared for release, Morton says the goal of the changes, which he announced in more general terms on Aug. 6, is to prioritize risk, strengthen oversight and increase efficiency. The initiatives will be paid for out of cost savings, he says.