Thread: CO - Immigration laws costly

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/o ... 40,00.html

Immigration laws costly
Attorney general says Colorado pays the tab unless feds step up
April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News
December 30, 2006
The state will find it extremely difficult to recover the millions it spends to enforce illegal-immigration laws without congressional action, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in a report released Friday.
"The best solution to the problem caused by illegal immigration is for the federal government to enforce existing immigration laws, pass stronger immigration laws and to reduce the number of illegal immigrants allowed to enter and stay in the United States," Suthers said in the report.

A new state law requires Suthers to issue a report detailing possible ways to recover costs shouldered by the state in dealing with illegal immigrants.

House Bill 1014, one of a number of bills passed during a special session on illegal immigration in July, seeks to recover federal funding to offset illegal immigration expenses.

The report lists some of the financial burdens on Colorado, including nearly $36 million to incarcerate illegal immigrants in state prisons.

Lax federal immigration policy and enforcement have caused Colorado's illegal immigration population to more than triple, to an estimated 263,000 from 1996 to 2003, according to the attorney general's report.

The report states that legal action brought against the federal government to require it to enforce illegal immigration laws and reimburse the state likely won't succeed.

"Our research shows that there are no outstanding debts or obligations for Colorado to collect through litigation or otherwise," Suthers wrote. "Unfortunately, this means that most of the expenses associated with illegal immigration must be absorbed by the states under current law."

In the 1990s, six others states tried to sue the federal government for reimbursement, but the suits were dismissed by the courts before going to trial, said Kristen Holtzman, spokesman for the attorney general's office.

Referendum K, passed by voters in November, directs Suthers to sue the federal government to recover Colorado's cost to enforce federal immigration laws.

Despite the odds, Suthers said he plans to file a suit in the coming months.

The report comes months after the state passed more than a dozen measures in 2006 to crack down on illegal immigration, including one of the toughest new anti-immigration laws in the nation. House Bill 1023 sets up strict identification checks by requiring residents to prove lawful presence to receive most government benefits.

Picking up the tab for illegal immigration

The three largest costs resulting from illegal immigration are for prisons, health care and education:

• One study concluded that Colora- dans pay $1 billion per year to house illegal immigrants in state, county and city jails.

• Emergency medical care and a K-12 education provided to illegal immigrants in Colorado as required by federal law result in a loss to U.S. citizens of more than $2 billion per year.

• The Colorado Department of Corrections reports it spent an estimated $36 million in 2005 to house illegal immigrants.

• In 2005, the federal government reimbursed the state $2.3 million for certain costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants.

• In 2003, the federal government appropriated $250 million for each fiscal year from 2005 to 2008 to help fund emergency medical care provided to illegal immigrants within their first five years in the U.S.Source: Colorado Attorney General

It's all money flushed down the drain. Which is why RICO type laws need to be enforced and assets seized. A lot of them own homes and cars.