The Mariels have been increasingly turning up in the Dade County jail. They are despised and feared by other inmates. The resulting atmosphere is analogous to a racial trench war, with knives the principal weapon. Many of the Mariels are former Cuban prisoners locked up for years in institutions where inmates preyed upon other inmates with the tacit approval of the guards. Others are first offenders. The fear of Mariel violence has imposed a rigid racial and ethnic segregation in the jail and emotionally and physically taxed the jail staff. The sudden influx of Mariels into the jail has also helped blow a court-imposed population cap. Mariels are arrested for and victimized by homicide in numbers far exceeding their proportion of the population. Many of the homicides are linked with Miami's flourishing drug trade, largely controlled by Colombians. Statistics kept by the Hialeah Police Department indicate that most arrests of Mariels were for motor vehicle violations and loitering and prowling. Thus, an epidemic of Mariel crime has not occurred, and the criminal justice system cannot explain crime increases based on their presence. Most Mariel inmates find American prison conditions agreeable, although they preferred the Cuban practice of weekend furloughs. Aggressive patroling in Dade County will probably result in the arrest of more Mariels. To handle the crime problem, the purchase of new modular housing units and the building of a new pretrial detention facility in the county are being planned. For discussion of prison overcrowding, see NCJ-82615.