Thread: Gregoire sends Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez $50 million

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/642 ... zalez.html

Monday, July 17, 2006 · Last updated 5:52 p.m. PT

Gregoire sends Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez $50 million bill

By RACHEL LA CORTE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Gov. Chris Gregoire sent an invoice of nearly $50 million to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday, saying the federal government needs to reimburse the state for the cost of housing criminal illegal immigrants in state prisons.

Gregoire said that it's the federal government's responsibility to incarcerate illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, but that the state has been doing it for years. From July 2004 to June 2005, Gregoire said the state paid more than $27 million to house 995 prisoners. The U.S. Department of Justice has only reimbursed the state $1.7 million, and still owes $25.3 million.

She's seeking an additional $24.4 million reimbursement for the months from July 2005 to this May.

Gregoire said that the states have been forced to pick up cuts in Medicaid and homeland security and shouldn't have to shoulder the incarceration costs.

"If we're going to continue to see nothing but cuts come our way, and accountability measures for us, then I think turnaround is fair play," Gregoire said. "They have to live up to their responsibility and we need to hold them accountable."

Justice Department spokeswoman Kathleen Blomquist said her department would respond to Gregoire once the letter was reviewed.

In her letter, Gregoire asked that the federal government repay the state by Aug. 1, or take custody of the prisoners.

"I can't put these people free on the street," she said. "Public safety is at risk here. They're holding us accountable in every respect. It's high time the states said we too are going to hold you accountable."

Gregoire, a Democrat, said she talked with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, about the immigrant incarceration issue at the Western Governors' Association meeting in Arizona last month.

"We, all three, agreed that we were going to take action," she said.

Schwarzenegger has not sent such a letter but has fought to increase federal reimbursements, said his press secretary, Margita Thompson. California state officials have lobbied the White House on the issue, and Schwarzenegger brought it up with President Bush during a visit to Silicon Valley in April, she said.

California spends more than $750 million per year on illegal immigrant incarceration costs, Schwarzenegger's office said.

Since late 2004, Napolitano has sent invoices to the federal government requesting reimbursement for her state's costs for imprisoning criminal illegal immigrants.

In a letter in May to Gonzales, she said the federal government owed Arizona more than $270 million for more than 3 1/2 years of unreimbursed immigrant jail costs.

In May, 14 governors, including Gregoire, Schwarzenegger and Napolitano, called on Congress to allot $850 million to fund the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which reimburses the states.

Oh, this is going to raise a s**t storm!!! Boy, oh boy, oh boy!!

Gregoire is grandstanding on this issue. In her 2004 gubenatorial campaign, she advocated spending taxpayer dollars, state and federal, to build housing for illegals employed in Washington agriculture, and further advocated putting illegals on the state payrolls. Gregoire is in lockstep with Washington's U.S. Senators, Murray and Cantwell, in advocacy for illegal alien "rights", guest worker programs, and amnesty. Washington State is a magnet for illegals due to generous benefits for illegals, force fed multi-cultural and bilingual education in the public schools, in-state tuition for illegals, lack of cooperation with federal authorities on immigration matters, and a lax system of drivers licensing and voter registration. The welcome mat for illegals is out in Washington State, and the fact that hundreds of them just happen to be murderers, rapists and child-molesters (among those who have been caught so far) is as much a result of the failure of state and local officials to uphold the law as it is of federal officials. Thank God Gregoire has officially raised this issue, because now it opens the door for an in depth debate on this issue within the State of Washington, as well as the issue of federal responsibility.

legal4mykidsfuture:

I really hate to say this, but boy am I glad I don't live there. Colorado has a big bunch of problems, but I don't they they hold a candle to what's going on there.

Gregoire is in lockstep with Washington's U.S. Senators, Murray and Cantwell, in advocacy for illegal alien "rights",

And also answerable to her citizens who are eating her alive right now. I send leters, copy and pasted articles, emails constantly to my "leaders" that work for me. I no longer get answers, but they know I'm coming for them in November. Like the Terminator, I won't stop.

loservillelabor:

I love the "Terminator" analogy. That is a great attitude.

You're right - you can make the "leaders" aware.

Here in Colorado, back in April, on got on one of my Senators (Allard) website. And the first thing that struck me was the Mexican flag flying next to the US flag.

I was absolutely speechless and infuriated. Instead of writing to Allard about whatever I had planned, instead I ranted about the Mexican flag.

Evidently, other people in Colorado felt the same way, because inside of one week, that flag was off the website.

We can make a difference - we just have to keep on coming at them (like the Terminator)>

The states can send all the invoices they want to the federal government for reimbursement of illegal costs, but does it really matter. If the state picks up the bill or the federal governments pays up the money is still coming from us, the people who pay the taxes.

Bills sent to the Feds may wake up someone there, but in my opinion, these States that have allowed illegals to get away with everything, and not taking a stand against them, then when it gets so out of hand, they want the whole country to pay the bills they have created by allowing freebies to illegals!

They need to send bills to every politician in their States that voted for these illegals, in one way or another!

Originally Posted by dlm1968

The states can send all the invoices they want to the federal government for reimbursement of illegal costs, but does it really matter. If the state picks up the bill or the federal governments pays up the money is still coming from us, the people who pay the taxes.

This is true, but it serves notice to the Fed that this "solution" is a big loser for the citizens. I thought we learned many years ago that putting leeches on something to cure its' ills doesn't work.

Originally Posted by loservillelabor

This is true, but it serves notice to the Fed that this "solution" is a big loser for the citizens. I thought we learned many years ago that putting leeches on something to cure its' ills doesn't work.

Oh, c'mon now, sure it does - the leeches get fed.