Study gauges local costs of illegal immigrants



By Nicholas C. Stern
News-Post Staff

State and local governments spend more on services

State and local governments spend more on services provided to unauthorized immigrants than they receive from them in tax revenues, a new study says.
Some local officials are not surprised.

But just how much money is spent, and what to do with such information remains unclear.

In a December study, The Congressional Budget Office reviewed 29 reports over 15 years that aimed to assess the economic impact of illegal immigrants on portions of local budgets in selected states.

Spending on the estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. was concentrated in education, health care and law enforcement programs, the study said, though it was a small percentage of overall spending in those areas.

No method has been found to accurately quantify the costs of unauthorized immigrants to the federal government, the CBO noted.

Frederick County Commissioner Charles A. Jenkins said he intuitively knew such costs to local governments were increasing, and the report was not useful.

Even if precise statistics were available, Jenkins said, he did not know what good the information would do.

The CBO wrote that courts and the federal government require state and local governments to provide certain services, such as public education and emergency medical care, regardless of immigration status.

On issues where the federal government has jurisdiction, Jenkins said, his colleagues made it clear they didn't want to do anything prohibited.

In October, his proposal to cut off some county services to illegal immigrants was defeated in a 3-2 vote.

Instead, the county commissioners passed a nonbinding resolution asking state and federal governments to show leadership on the issue. They also approved a position statement asking state lawmakers to call for a constitutional convention to deal with illegal immigration.

The resolution was more posture than substance, Jenkins said, and he doubts the issue would be resolved by the federal government.

Jenkins is trying, with the help of the county attorney, to subject beneficiaries of county building permits to random audits.

If people working on those jobs cannot prove they are legal residents, they could be fired or receive a fine, he said.

"I am trying to effect change in areas we (the county) can control."

Jenkins said he thinks a majority of county residents supported his proposal and will support what he is trying to do with the business permits.

"It'd be great to take care of the world, but you can't do that," Jenkins said. "I'm trying to look after my little corner."


Real ID

County Commissioner Kai Hagen said knowing the financial cost of immigration doesn't change the problem.

As long as businesses are willing to employ unauthorized immigrants to cut costs, Hagen said, people will still come.

"(Unauthorized immigrants) come to get jobs; if that evaporated, it would have a far bigger effect than any other thing we could do," Hagen said.

He said the federal government has the mandate to control borders and decide what to do about an individual's immigration status.

Imagine the chaos of more than 3,000 counties and 10,000 cities and towns across the country, he said, all trying to apply and enforce unique local laws.

"Trying to do that piecemeal is nuts."

The commissioner's resolution is just one part of the puzzle, he said.

The county might also need assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division, a plan Frederick County Sheriff Charles A. Jenkins has supported, as well as state enactment of the Real ID Act.

Delegate Richard B. Weldon Jr., a Republican representing Frederick and Washington counties, said Real ID, a 2005 federal law, requires states have a consistent program to better determine legal status and identification.

A person would need to show the Real ID, for example, to board a plane or enter a federal building, Weldon said. According to the law, every state must issue a Real ID by 2013.

The information required to obtain the ID has not been determined, Weldon said, and many states perceive the mandate as underfunded.

The Maryland State Highway Administration and Motor Vehicle Administration have come up with a two-tier ID, he said. A person with a driver's license who needed to fly, for example, would pay extra to get biometrics and other information onto a Real ID.

This may be cumbersome, Weldon said, but it could be a good compromise with state officials worried about the costs of Real ID.

"My gut tells me it's the answer," he said.

Weldon said voters are tired of the president's and Congress' avoidance of the illegal immigration issue. The best way to apply pressure on the federal government, he said, is to vote people out of office who are unwilling to reform.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-6, has consistently voted for bills to strengthen the borders and improve enforcement against illegal immigration, according to an e-mail written by his spokeswoman, Lisa Wright.

"Legal immigrants wait patiently, work hard and strengthen our communities and our nation," the e-mail stated. "However, illegal means illegal. I oppose amnesty."


In real terms

Larry Steinly, supervisor of the English Language Learners program in Frederick County Public Schools, said a 1982 Supreme Court decision forbids him from denying students admission based on their immigration status.

The Frederick county ELL program has grown dramatically in recent years, he said.

In 2003, 599 students were in the ELL program. In 2007, there were 1,200, Steinly said. Ten ELL teachers have been added over the past three years; Steinly said he does not know their salaries, which vary depending on teacher qualifications.

He said he did not correlate the number of students in ELL classes with immigration status.

Of the ELL students, 76 percent speak Spanish, Steinly said. They come from 17 different countries, most from Mexico. ELL also serves students from Burma, China and Africa.

Steinly said most ELL students want to fit in and learn English. "They want to participate to the fullest extent they can."

Frederick City Police chief Kim C. Dine said costs to city police relate to people breaking the law, and are not a function of immigration status.

"We're doing our part," Dine said.

Having ICE determine the immigration status of suspects in custody is logical, Dine said.

A program in Prince William County, Va., requires officers to check the immigration status of anyone in custody whom they suspect is illegal. Such programs may be effective, Dine said, but can cost millions of dollars to enforce.

People in the Hispanic community, he said, also are worried about crime, and don't want to be victimized.

Maria Teresa Shuck, a Spanish translator for the Frederick Memorial Healthcare System, said the CBO study is a non-issue for her, because she helps anyone who needs assistance, according to federal guidelines.

In the past five years, Shuck estimated, the number of patients at Frederick Memorial needing a translator has tripled. As a result, four new part-time, on-call translators were hired, including an emergency relief person.

Many people come to Frederick Memorial from Montgomery and Washington counties, Shuck said, to take advantage of the translating service, for Spanish as well as sign language.

With people who might be unauthorized immigrants, Shuck said, she would rather err on the side of compassion.

"If people knew some of these folks like I do," she said, "I think they would change their perspective