Thread: Despite aid, local jails foot most of the bill

http://www.newsok.com/article/2995566

Hundreds of illegal immigrants spent time in the Oklahoma County jail last year, but the federal government will pay just a fraction of the cost of detaining them.

For the 561 prisoners held for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the county will collect $622,675 based on a generous $42.33 per diem.

"They're one of the highest payers we have. It really comes in helpful from a revenue standpoint,” Sheriff John Whetsel said.

But hundreds of additional illegal immigrants — the number was 1,429 in 2005 — entered the jail on state or local criminal charges last year, leaving the county with primary financial responsibility for them.

"They're on our nickel from the time they come in here until we're done with them. Then, if the federal government has a hold on them, it's their nickel,” said Capt. David Baisden, who supervises support services for the jail.

As the immigration debate grew louder last year, some cities and counties with large numbers of illegal immigrant inmates protested that division of responsibility. They argued the federal government allows illegal immigration, so it should pay the cost of incarcerating criminals who entered the country illegally.

Champions of that view include Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, who sent a $50 million invoice to the U.S. attorney general in July; and some Colorado legislators, who backed legislation directing the Colorado attorney general to seek compensation.

The federal government acknowledged some responsibility in 1994 when it established the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program to offset incarceration costs. But as more jurisdictions sought reimbursement, the program's funding was slashed. Now the Bush administration wants to do away with it.

"They cut it in half, and they cut it in half again. Now they want to eliminate it,” Baisden said.

Local responsibility
K.C. Moon, director of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center, said the Justice Department currently thinks incarcerating law-breakers is a local responsibility. He agrees local jurisdictions will do the job with or without federal help.

"The federal government could stop paying entirely on this, and these people would still be arrested because the sheriffs would be doing what they're supposed to do, which is maintain public safety,” he said.

Assistance applications
The assistance program received 758 applications in federal fiscal year 2005 and paid out $287 million, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which administers the program. The state of Oklahoma and 12 Oklahoma counties together received $748,643 of that.

Oklahoma County received about $66,000 from the program last year for holding 1,429 illegal immigrants on criminal charges for a total of 4,537 days. That amounted to less than $15 a day for each approved inmate — and many more were rejected.

Baisden said applying for the funds requires hours of work, beginning with a report identifying all the inmates held during the year who appeared to be illegal immigrants. Only those held four days or more qualify for reimbursement.

"We submit a list of people, and we've got to run all sorts of information to make sure that they're eligible inmates. Then they (federal administrators) go back and scrub them, as well,” Baisden said.

Small reimbursements
In the end, the program reimburses states for only about 14 percent of the "criminal aliens” they claimed in their applications, according to Moon's calculations. He guesses the number of illegal immigrants in county jails is even higher because many counties never apply for reimbursement.

"So many sheriffs aren't bothering to fill out this paperwork. They see it as an arduous task, and they just won't do it,” Moon said.

Even the relatively small sum the county collects would be missed if the program ends, Baisden said.

"Obviously, the more we can get reimbursed, the more we're going to like it. It's the federal government picking up part of their responsibility,” he said.

"They're on our nickel from the time they come in here until we're done with them. Then, if the federal government has a hold on them, it's their nickel,” said Capt. David Baisden, who supervises support services for the jail.

The bigger picture here Sherriff is that it all boils down to the American taxpayer's "nickel", and we're tired of footing their bill.

Sounds like they need the Joe Arpaio counseling session, and our goverment needs a swift kick in the pants.

I don't know if Oklahoma is considered a sanctuary state or not. But many, like those in California, want it both ways. They want to be paid and reimbursed for housing these illegal thugs, but they also want to attract them to the state.

That reminds me of Section 8 housing. We had upscale housing in the area, apartments started renting to thugs and now they want to know why they are losing their good tenants and the property is run down. Of course property values are going to diminish. Greed gets you nowhere.