Thread: Feds should pay for illegal Immigrants

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Feds should pay for illegal Immigrants

By John J. Benoit


You can't talk about prison and jail overcrowding without discussing illegal immigration, because the issues are so fully intertwined.

Here in Riverside County, the sheriff has been forced to release more than 3,000 inmates early every year because of a shortage of jail space. Meanwhile, more than 2,700 illegal immigrants were incarcerated in Riverside County jails last year.

Our state prisons also are packed to unsafe levels, thanks in part to illegal immigrants. You may have heard that the Chuckawalla Valley State Prison has more than twice the number of prisoners it was designed to hold, and that the Ironwood State Prison and Norco California Rehabilitation Center also are well over capacity. Bed space is so scarce, that prisoners are sleeping in gyms, day rooms and other areas designed for other purposes.

As we identify the core reasons for prison overcrowding, we should start with this fact: Roughly 11 percent of the inmates in state prisons are illegal immigrants, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

That's why I have introduced common-sense legislation that will pressure the federal government to either take these illegal immigrant inmates off our hands once and for all, or fully reimburse California taxpayers for the enormous costs associated with housing them in our prisons.

United States Code (8 U.S.C. 1231(I)(2)) requires the United States' Attorney General to either “enter into a contractual agreement which provides for compensation to the StateŠwith respect to the incarceration of the undocumented criminal alien; or Štake the undocumented criminal alien into the custody of the Federal Government and incarcerate the alien.”


Despite this requirement in federal law, the federal government provides only a partial “take it or leave it” payment. This payment, through the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), leaves Californian's paying 84% of the costs to imprison illegal immigrants. The SCAAP is funded by Congress as it deems necessary, and for the past few years, they have not deemed it very necessary! The monies appropriated into the fund are divvied up amongst states housing illegals without recognition of the true cost of that housing.

Unfortunately, the federal government has fallen far short of that obligation, covering just 16 percent of California's costs. Last year, the federal government reimbursed California for just $107 million of the $662 million spent to incarcerate illegals here. And it will to get even worse in the current fiscal year with the total cost of imprisoning illegals expected to rise to $723 million, while the federal reimbursement will increase a mere $7 million, to just $114 million.

The impact is felt locally, too. Riverside County spent $12.6 million last year to incarcerate illegal immigrants in the county jails. The federal government reimbursed us for just $1.25 million.

I am not a big proponent of battling between different layers of government. But the federal government has left us with no other option, and Californians can no longer afford to sit idly by, waiting for reimbursements that may never arrive. We need to apply more pressure for full reimbursements that will help the state pay for things like improved transportation infrastructure, water projects and increased investments in our public schools.

Getting the federal government to take responsibility for imprisoning illegal immigrants won't be easy, but if we succeed, we will dramatically ease prison overcrowding without new costs to California taxpayers or increased risk to public safety.

Assemblyman John J. Benoit represents the 64th Assembly District, which includes Anza, Bermuda Dunes, Canyon Lake, Idyllwild, Indian Wells, March Air Force Base, Mountain Center, Palm Desert, Quail Valley, Rancho Mirage, Riverside, Woodcrest, and portions of Hemet, Indio, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Perris, Sun City, Temecula, Wildomar, and Winchester.

Feds should pay for illegal Immigrants

The saddest reality of all this is the fact that no matter how it gets boiled down, the American taxpayer is going to foot the bill. No matter whether or not its state or federal level.

Originally Posted by sippy

Feds should pay for illegal Immigrants

The saddest reality of all this is the fact that no matter how it gets boiled down, the American taxpayer is going to foot the bill. No matter whether or not its state or federal level.

I was just about to say the same thing. The bottom line is, we the tax payers will pay for the illegals no matter what. Be it Local, State or Federal levels, we are footing the bill!