http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01 ... _13_07.txt

Last modified Saturday, January 13, 2007 11:18 PM PST

County illegal immigration study going nowhere

By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO ---- County supervisors noisily voted more than seven months ago to look into doing a study to pinpoint how much illegal immigrants cost the county and taxpayers, but the study has gone nowhere since then, officials said last week.

The supervisors voted in May to consider the cost study ----- prodded by a news conference by Supervisor Bill Horn and U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Escondido, who were running for election.

The two candidates ---- both won ---- said illegal immigrants cost the county tens of millions of dollars a year and the federal government should pay up.

But shortly after the May vote, county officials decided to wait to view the results of a similar study planned by the Border Counties Coalition, county spokesman Mike Workman said last week.

The coalition is a lobbying organization that represents 24 counties in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Seven months later, the coalition study, which was expected in September, hasn't even begun.

The federal funding that was to pay for the study hasn't come through.

"There have been some administrative delays," David Austin, one of the partners of the law firm that operates the coalition, said from Texas. "We're looking at sometime after March, maybe as late as June, before we can complete it."

Horn said last month that he wasn't very pleased with the news.

"I'm not happy about it, but what can I do?" Horn said. "It's tied up with federal funding. ... I just wanted to know from the counties' standpoint what the numbers are. So I'm not happy with the answer, but there's not much we can do about it, according to (county) staff."

Even when supervisors voted for the study in May, some said they thought it could be a waste of time and money.

Supervisors Greg Cox and Pam Slater-Price said then that the federal government had turned a deaf ear to pleas for reimbursement to states and local governments.

Even when the coalition's study is done, it's questionable that it would be exactly what Horn and the other supervisors were hoping for: a comprehensive look at the costs of services provided to illegal immigrants, ranging from law enforcement to education, and health to social services.

Austin said that t he coalition's study would be limited to researching illegal immigrant costs borne by the criminal justice system, costs associated with arresting, prosecuting, jailing and caring for prisoners.

Horn said last week that study would fall short of his expectations.

"I want to know the rest," he said. "But I haven't gotten any answers."

Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com.