September 17, 2008


Legislative panel looks at costs of illegal immigration

Hearing could spur new legislation aimed at tackling the issue

By Dan McFeely

Illegal immigration is costing the state millions of dollars in law enforcement, health care and education, though no one seems to know the extent of the problem or its full costs.

"Gangs are on the rise. Drugs are out of control. We also are seeing human trafficking, smuggling, kidnapping, extortion and murder," Sherry Beck, a legislative liaison for the Indiana State Police, told lawmakers Tuesday.

"Can we say that these are directly related to illegal immigrants? No. But they do play a significant role," she said.

Beck, however, could not provide specific numbers in testifying before a state panel studying the costs of illegal immigration.

Shedding some light on the problem, prison officials said 504 of the 27,632 offenders behind bars in Indiana are classified as foreign nationals, unable to prove they are legal.

The cost to house those prisoners, feed them and provide medical care is about $9.9 million a year, according to Randy Koester, deputy commissioner of administration for the Department of Correction.

Additionally, the state provides English language courses at a cost of $318,000 for 201 of the offenders, he said, and the cost to transport them to Plainfield for federal deportation hearings is about $10,000 a year.

Those numbers could help state Sen. Mike Delph, R-Carmel, and other lawmakers make their case as they push for state legislation to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. A similar law in Arizona has led to a 34 percent reduction in the number of illegal immigrants, according to Todd Smith, chief counsel for the State Police.

The lawmakers listened to more than four hours of testimony Tuesday in the second of five hearings planned on immigration ahead of the start of the next legislative session in January.

At times, lawmakers voiced frustration at the lack of hard numbers offered by those called to testify, including a statewide group of hospitals and the Indiana Department of Education, both of which said they do not ask about the immigration status of a patient or student.

The DOE, however, was able to report that in the 2007-08 school year, Indiana had enrolled 34,494 students in English as Second Language courses, most of whom spoke Spanish as their primary language.

Mitch Roob, the head of the Family Social Services Administration, provided a little insight into the cost to the state's health-care system, telling the panel the state has spent more than $5.5 million in each of the past three years to reimburse hospitals for expenses related to the treatment of illegal immigrants.

Under the law, hospitals must provide emergency care and pregnancy care for all residents, legal or not.

In discussing the impact on law enforcement, some lawmakers wondered why the state cannot immediately deport illegal immigrants once they are convicted of a crime.

"We can't do anything to get rid of these people and stop paying to house them?" asked Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso.

"We are at the court's mercy," replied DOC official Kevin Mulroney.

The State Police -- while testifying to a growing problem with criminals who are here illegally -- said it did not believe stepping up law enforcement alongside federal immigration officers would have the impact lawmakers desire.

The cost to train officers is too high, and police agencies in Arizona that have done so have not reported a significant reduction in criminal activity by illegal immigrants, according to Smith, the chief counsel for the State Police.

Arizona law enforcement agencies also discovered they did not have the jail facilities necessary to handle a large influx of illegal immigrants.

Delph, the sponsor of immigration reform legislation that failed to pass the General Assembly earlier this year, criticized the State Police for a "defeatist attitude" concerned too much about money.

"I would argue that the costs are too high to do nothing," he said.

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