Thread: CO: Senate panel OKs suing fed for immigration costs

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/govern ... %2C00.html

Senate panel OKs suing fed for immigration costs

By Jon Sarche, Associated Press
July 8, 2006
DENVER - Signaling their frustration with the federal government and Congress' failure so far to reform immigration laws, lawmakers Saturday approved measures to direct the attorney general to sue the federal government to require enforcement of immigration laws.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also approved a separate bill encouraging the state attorney general to do all he can -- possibly including a lawsuit -- to pry money out of the federal government for reimbursement of state costs related to illegal immigration.

"We've seen year after year the amount of money coming from the federal government to implement certain requirements the federal government makes of us ... go down further and further," Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, told the committee.

Tapia, who is sponsoring the bill (House Bill 1014) to encourage the attorney general to seek reimbursement, said for example, the federal government used to reimburse the state for 10 percent of the costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants convicted of state crimes. This year, however, Tapia said the federal government has withheld that payment.

"If the federal government had done its work, we wouldn't be here today," Tapia said. "We hope this might set some sort of precedent among other states ... that may be the impetus that's needed to get the federal government to go forward."

Joint Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, has said the Department of Corrections reported that it spends about $40 million per year to house 1,019 foreign-born inmates. He said federal immigration authorities have put a "hold" on up to 80 percent of those inmates, meaning they will be deported after they finish their sentences.

The bill originally would have required the attorney general to seek reimbursement, but the committee changed it to say the attorney general is encouraged to take that action. The move was made to avoid a violation of the constitutional separation of powers.

"The attorney general represents the people, and the people asked us to convene here to do something significant about illegal immigration," said Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont. "The message we've been sent here to convey to the attorney general and the federal government is that this is a top priority and this bill accomplishes that."

The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

Also approved was a measure (House Bill 1022), which would put a measure on the November ballot asking voters whether the attorney general should sue the federal government to force it to enforce immigration laws.

The bill says the state has limited authority to handle problems surrounding illegal immigration and that the federal government is failing to enforce its laws.

"The General Assembly further finds that the state of Colorado spends a disproportionate share of its limited tax revenue on public services and benefits such as health care, law enforcement, criminal defense and incarceration, and education that are provided to illegal aliens as a result of the federal government's failure to enforce immigration laws."

Signaling their frustration with the federal government and Congress' failure so far to reform immigration laws, lawmakers Saturday approved measures to direct the attorney general to sue the federal government to require enforcement of immigration laws.

No Mr. Sarche
More likely they're upset with two decades of the broken promise of enforcement. The executive branch is the problem. I get so sick of these ignorant reporters.