This study draws on the results of the Cambridge Family Ties Project which investigated ties from prisoners' points of view. The neglect of foreign national prisoners in English prisons means that there are no accurate statistics concerning that group. However, all the indications are that they form a significant proportion of the UK prison population, especially among those with longer sentences. Because of their distance from their families, lack of fluent English, and cultural isolation, these prisoners often experience a much harsher prison regime than their UK counterparts. Many of the recent policy changes intended to support the family ties of prisoners have little or no impact for foreign national prisoners. The authors question the policy leading to the long prison sentences that most non-UK prisoners receive as drug couriers. While such policies can be devastating, not only for those imprisoned, but also their families, there seems little evidence that they have any deterrent effect. The authors argue that arrested couriers should simply be deported and that the British tax payer would thus be spared the considerable cost of maintaining those people in UK prisons. Table, notes, references