http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... s0413.html

Ariz., N.M. urge feds to pay tab of immigration
Until states are repaid, defer aid to offenders, letter says

The Arizona Republic
Apr. 13, 2007 12:00 AM

The federal government should defer foreign aid to the countries that are the biggest sources of illegal immigration into the U.S. until Washington has paid the states' costs for jailing illegal border crossers.

That's the latest proposal from Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, as they continue their pressure on the federal government to pick up the cost of illegal immigration.

"It is time for Congress to make full federal funding for states' immigration costs a condition precedent to future foreign aid funding," the border governors, both Democrats, wrote in a letter to the congressional sponsors of immigration-reform measures. advertisement

At the least, they wrote, the federal government, before sending foreign aid to the 10 countries that generate the most illegal immigrations to the U.S., should ensure that the states have been fully reimbursed for their costs of jailing illegal border crossers.

In addition, the federal government should certify that the states have received "adequate" funding to put in place the national identification card that is called for in the Real ID Act.

Many states have complained that the Real ID Act amounts to an unfunded mandate.

Arizona has billed the U.S. Department of Justice $357.5 million since October 2004 for the costs of incarcerating "criminal aliens."

The United States government has a program to help the states with those costs, but Arizona's bills have gone unpaid.