Thread: Obama administration plan to end payments,jailing illegals

Obama budget nixes aid for jailing illegal immigrants

By Ian Swanson and Walter Alarkon
Posted: 05/08/09 09:24 AM [ET]

President Obama voted in the Senate to provide additional funding for a program targeted for elimination by his budget that provides states a federal subsidy to offset the costs of jailing illegal immigrants.

Killing the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAPP) would save $400 million, according to Obama's budget for fiscal 2010 released Thursday. It's one of the largest non-defense discretionary cuts proposed in the president's budget.

The program is popular with border-state politicians on Capitol Hill, however, making its elimination a tough sell to lawmakers, particularly from California.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has repeatedly pushed for additional funding for the program, and lawmakers from other states that have costs associated with illegal aliens have also offered support.

A bipartisan trio of House members from California have drafted a letter urging the House Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to restore funding for the SCAAP program. The three members, Reps. Mike Honda (D), Adam Schiff (D) and Jerry Lewis, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, are also asking the rest of the California House delegation to sign the letter, Honda's office said.

As an Illinois senator, Obama co-sponsored an amendment offered by then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), now Obama's secretary of state, that would have provided additional funding for the program. It also would have established a grant program to defray local government healthcare and education costs for non-citizens.

"Each year, the SCAAP program is underfunded," Clinton said in 2006 comments urging support for her amendment. She cited a 2005 Government Accountability Office study that found local governments get only 25 percent of their costs reimbursed through the program.

"Throughout our country and in my state, there are counties and municipalities that are covering the costs of dealing with education, healthcare, and law enforcement without adequate or any federal reimbursement," Clinton said. "So we have left our local and state governments to fend for themselves. They should not be left to bear these costs alone because it is not they who are making federal immigration policy."

Another Obama Cabinet member, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, then a senator from Colorado, was also a co-sponsor.

Obama voted for the amendment, but it was defeated 43-52.

Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that has called for tougher border security, predicted it is "very unlikely" that Obama's proposal to cut the program will be accepted by Congress. He noted that the Bush administration repeatedly tried to zero out the program, but always ran into opposition in Congress.


"It's hard to justify getting rid of it honestly," Krikorian said. "It's a necessary program because the federal government is reimbursing states and localities for the federal government's own mistakes."

Krikorian, like Clinton in 2006, argued immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and if state and local jails are incarcerating illegal immigrants, it is because of failed federal policies.

According to the fiscal 2010 budget, Obama's administration thinks resources used for the program could be better used to enhance federal efforts to curb illegal immigration.

"In place of SCAAP, the administration proposes a comprehensive border enforcement strategy that supports resources for a comprehensive approach to enforcement along the nation's borders that combines law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts to investigate arrest, detail, and prosecute illegal immigrants and other criminals," the budget states.

It emphasizes that the budget will provide funding for an additional 20,000
Border Patrol agents, and an additional $1.4 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement programs to support the quick identification and removal of illegal aliens who commit crimes in the U.S.

The Office of Management and Budget did not respond when contacted about this story.

Should Obama's budget cut all subsidies to states for jailing illegal immigrants? Sound off here!

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/oba ... 05-08.html

Originally Posted by MW

I actually support ending the funding. Ending the funding would influence more states to get tough on illegal immigration. Furthermore, I think it would force them to demand that the border be secured. As it stands now, some states have no problem with illegals because they know Uncle Sam is going to subsidize the jailing of them. Once the states have to start paying all the costs, you'll see attitudes change (IMO).

You have a great point there MW!! I must agree with it!

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has repeatedly pushed for additional funding for the program...."

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said killing the program "deprives communities of critical funding for public safety services." The California state corrections received more than $118 million in 2008 through the program...."

I think Sen. Feinstein is on the side of the angels on this one. We have bombarded her with calls and emails protesting her support for amnesty for illegal aliens. I suggest we now call and email her our appreciation for her support of both maintaining the State Alien Criminal Assistance Program (SCAAP) and increasing its funding. The Open Borders Lobby is doing everything they can to "roll back" effective efforts at the state and local levels to combat illegal immigration. We need to be strong in our support of those who are working to maintain these programs as well as negative in our opposition.

Sen Dianne. Feinstein's (D-CA):
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/ ... Us.EmailMe

Other means of Contact:
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/ ... actUs.Home


(Unless you agree with MW, which is an entirely different point of view.)

Originally Posted by MW

I actually support ending the funding. Ending the funding would influence more states to get tough on illegal immigration. Furthermore, I think it would force them to demand that the border be secured. As it stands now, some states have no problem with illegals because they know Uncle Sam is going to subsidize the jailing of them. Once the states have to start paying all the costs, you'll see attitudes change (IMO).

That's an excellent point! The first think that came to mind when I saw the headline was amnesty. I am a little worried that illegals will be even more above the law then they already are. I just don't want the police to let an illegal go, ONLY because they know they won't get the funding for him.

I hope you are right about this. Hopefully, Texas will do something.

Obama Faces Stiff Opposition to Cutting Aid for Imprisoning Illegal Immigrants

Among the programs that President Obama wants to eliminate, the toughest one could be the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which gives money to states to help defray the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

FOXNews.com
Saturday, May 09, 2009

President Obama is learning the hard way that no matter which political party is in the White House, it isn't easy to cut reimbursements to states for locking up law-breaking illegal immigrants.

Obama, to trim the $3.4 billion budget plan making its way through Congress, had proposed this week a package of $17 billion in domestic cuts. Republicans said the proposal didn't cut enough, while Democrats objected to cutting some of the programs.

Obama may find the toughest program to cut is the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which gives money to states to help defray the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants who commit crimes. The $400 million program is one of the largest non-defense discretionary spending item to be cut under Obama's proposal.

Former President Bush tried in vain to kill the program several times, facing opposition from, among others, Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- who, as senators, tried to secure additional funding for the program -- and Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who was Arizona governor at the time.

Now Obama is facing similar opposition.

Arizona Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell and Ann Kirkpatrick sent a letter to key House lawmakers urging them maintain funding for the program. As of Friday, 17 members of Congress had signed the letter, including 12 Democrats and five Republicans from eight states.

"As Arizonans, we know the tremendous financial toll illegal immigration is taking on our state and local law enforcement agencies," Giffords said. "As long as sheriff's offices in Pima, Cochise and other Arizona counties are doing the federal government's job of securing our border, they must get compensated for it. That is the fair thing to do."

But Peter Orszag, director of the White House's Office and Management and Budget, said despite the proposed cut, the administration is still committed to spending money on the border, noting that the president's budget includes $27 billion for border and related security, an 8 percent increase over last year.

The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program is flawed, Orszag said

"The evidence suggests that the funds are often used in a variety of ways that are tangential to the direct cost associated with imprisoning unauthorized immigrants," he said. "And the reason that we proposed terminating that program is precisely that it is not well targeted to the problem at hand, in addition to the desire on our part to focus our efforts and attention on reducing unauthorized immigration in the first place."

But some aren't satisfied with that explanation.

"Illegal immigration and border security are federal responsibilities," said Ed Kowalski, director of 9/11 Families for a Secure America. "Forcing state governments to pick up the tab for the federal government's failures doesn't save U.S. taxpayers one dime.

Further, President Obama has not offered any alternative to reimbursing the states for the high costs associated with prosecuting and incarcerating criminal aliens."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who repeatedly has pushed for additional funding for the program, said Obama's proposal deprives "communities of critical funding for public safety services."

"We cannot afford to let our public safety services crumble under the weight of our immigration policies, especially during this time of economic uncertainty," she said. "I am committed to restoring the funding for this essential program."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05 ... mmigrants/

From Obama budget nixes aid for jailing illegal immigrants

As an Illinois senator, Obama co-sponsored an amendment offered by then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), now Obama's secretary of state, that would have provided additional funding for the program. It also would have established a grant program to defray local government healthcare and education costs for non-citizens.

"Each year, the SCAAP program is underfunded," Clinton said in 2006 comments urging support for her amendment. She cited a 2005 Government Accountability Office study that found local governments get only 25 percent of their costs reimbursed through the program.

Obama Flips and He Flops.

Dixie