Thread: FL: State spends millions to house illegal immigrants

State spends millions to house illegal immigrants

WFTV.com
February 24, 2012
CHATTAHOOCHEE, Fla.


Florida is spending millions of dollars every year housing and feeding criminals who are in the state illegally, in mental health facilities.

Nestled in the hills of Chattahoochee, on the Florida-Georgia line, is Florida’s largest mental health facility.

Every year millions of state tax dollars are spent at the facility, and at similar facilities, caring for criminals who are in the county illegally.

State Rep. Ritch Workman is tired of it and is going to change it.

"At the end of the day, when does the niceness end and our laws kick in and say you shouldn't be here in the first place?" said Workman.

Right now there are 51 people who have been accused of crimes and are in the county illegally under state care. It costs about $3 million a year to care for them. They've all been accused of a crime, and have either been deemed incompetent to proceed in court or not guilty by reason of insanity.

Some of them have spent years in the state's facilities.

It's a revolving very expensive bill that has cost Florida $17 million so far. Workman wonders why the state is even spending that money when other dire state services are being cut.

"We are subsidizing their bad behavior with hard earned state tax dollars, and that's going to stop,” said Workman.

Some wonder why these illegal alien prisoners aren’t deported.

Some of them are eventually sent back home.

Some stay because they have children or spouses who were born in the United States.

Others are at the facilities because the court system has decided they should stay.

"It may be these individuals owe a debt to the state of Florida that we're actually willing to pay, to make sure they serve out their time here in Florida," said Robert Weissert of Florida Taxwatch.

The Florida Department of Children and Families runs the facilities, and controls how much money is spent. But the agency can't deport them; that's up to the federal government.

"Our role by law is people refer to us, we treat them, and decisions whether they stay or not is not our decision to make," said DCF spokesman Joe Follick.

Workman said he questions why the state is paying for illegal immigrants, while slashing services for legal citizens to the bone.

“At what time are our U.S. citizens going to say, ‘That's it. That's enough. We're done?’" said Workman.

Right now the only immigration-related bill moving through the Florida Legislature is one requiring fingerprint analysis for jobs.

Most of the illegal immigrants being treated come from Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba.

9 Investigates: State spends millions to house illegal immigrants | www.wftv.com

REPOST FOR ELECTION YEAR: Untold thousands of illegal immigrants live in public housi

Untold thousands of illegal immigrants live in public housing at a time when hundreds of thousands of citizens and legal residents are stuck waiting years for a spot.

Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, applied for public housing in 2002 while she was in the country legally seeking asylum from her native Kenya, said Lydia Agro, spokeswoman for the Boston Housing Authority, which has a waiting list of nearly 20,000 people.

This is precisely what I mean by "Benefits that ONLY Legal American Citizens" should be eligible for!!..Helping OUR OWN country, OUR OWN citizens live better, Helping them get a leg up, YES, OKAY!!

Helping ILLEGALS, Who SHOULD'NT be here, Who DISREGARDED LAWS and SKIPPED ahead of people waiting patiently, paying Fees IN THIER COUNTRY...NO!! ABSOLUTELY NOT, These People are NOT Americas responsibility, and their Life is NOT on Our shoulders or Our dime!!

Their Country IS responsible for them and their children, NOT OURS, Not until they FOLLOW PROPER Law, Pay the Fees and Wait the time to do things LEGALLY

More money wasted on illegals. Send them back to their own countries.