http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pb...rionledger.com

November 5, 2005
Immigrants' impact studied

Auditor gauging effect on state taxpayers, economy

By Arnold Lindsay
alindsay@clarionledger.com

State Auditor Phil Bryant believes illegal immigrants are draining money from state agencies and hospitals and are negatively affecting Mississippi's work force.

However, the impact of illegal immigrants on the state's economy can't be measured. Therefore, Bryant is conducting a performance audit to gauge the effect on taxpayers. It's a sensitive subject that has to be addressed, he said.

"When they come here illegally, I have to ask, and taxpayers have to ask, 'How much of my tax dollars are being spent and what should be done? ' " Bryant said.
Information from the state Departments of Education, Human Services and Health will be analyzed. Bryant also wants to know about jobs being held by illegal immigrants, who, along with their employers, likely do not pay taxes, he said.

The information will be used to determine whether the federal government should be paying more to Mississippi for services provided to illegal immigrants, and to document how much state agencies spend on them.

It also could help lawmakers determine whether new laws should be crafted, such as requiring that the contracts of any vendor who hires illegal workers be terminated.

Mississippi will receive $190,775 annually from the federal government through 2008 for costs associated with caring for illegal immigrants. The sum can be shared between any of about 115 hospitals across the state.

It's a meager amount when compared to the cost some hospitals accumulate treating indigent patients, some of whom could be persons living illegally in the state, Bryant said.

In 2003, the University of Mississippi Medical Center provided $48 million in indigent care that was written off. In 2004, $73 million in indigent care went uncollected, said UMC spokesman Bruce Coleman.

Coleman said the hospital does not probe into whether patients are illegal immigrants. "We don't turn anyone away," Coleman said.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, limits the amount of information that can be shared about a patient outside of the medical chain.

From a business standpoint, data on illegal immigrants would be good to have, said Blake Wilson, president of the Mississippi Economic Council.

"I think it's always helpful to know where you stand and what's your demographics from the work force," Wilson said. "It will be information that's worth looking at to give us kind of a baseline to be able to evaluate the kind of impact."

Victoria Cintra, emergency outreach coordinator for Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, said changes within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have opened the door for illegal immigrants to enter the country.

"I really couldn't tell you what percentage of people are illegal or not," Cintra said.

A governmental investigation would be fine, but not on the status of illegal immigrants alone, Cintra said. She said unscrupulous contractors, many of whom have come from out of state to help rebuild the Gulf Coast, are misusing legal immigrants.

"Don't audit the impact unless you know the facts. If they're going to do an audit, be really fair," she said.

Sam Atkinson, director of Performance Audits, said getting accurate information will arm state officials with what they need to make the best decisions.

"The residual effect is huge," Atkinson said. "First off we need to find out what we're dealing with. And that's what this performance audit is about."