Comment: The local-vs-federal issue is becoming a common theme.
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http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/2006 ... /108310075

Officials debate cost of immigration

Vanessa Delgado
August 31, 2006

Illegal immigration is costing the state more money than it can afford, and to fix the problem the U.S. government needs to tighten border security and allow more jurisdiction to local governments to address the issues, Gov. Bill Owens said.

Owens was one of many state and national officials who testified during the U.S. Senate Committee's field hearing in Aurora Wednesday to discuss the financial cost of the country's immigration laws hosted by Sen. Wayne Allard.

"Legal immigration could be a good thing. America is a nation built on the hard work of immigrants," Allard said. "Because we cannot take them all, we are forced to make tough decisions."

Officials discussed U.S. House Bill 4437, which would tighten border security, and U.S. Senate Bill 2611, which extends that to include a guest worker program. Allard said as many as 24 million people will obtain legal status under the Senate bill, which he voted against in May. Both bills still have yet to fully pass scrutiny of the other house to get one step closer to becoming law.

"These are real numbers and real costs to taxpayers," Owens said. "I would encourage the federal government to tighten its standards."

Owens said the government needs to adopt a more stringent method to verify the status of immigrants and allow states more power to enforce immigration laws.

"The problems associated with illegal immigration, I believe, are fixable," Owens said.

According to Weld District Attorney Ken Buck, most of the costs related to immigrants in Weld County are those who are breaking the law. With an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Weld, law enforcement could get help dealing with illegal immigrants. It is yet to be determined whether an office is set for the county.

"People are slipping though the cracks," Buck said in reference to the criminals who are not able to be processed by local governments. "We must close the borders, senator."

Many of the officials who spoke outlined the financial implications to public education, government services, security and enforcement of the laws. They also noted that since the number of illegal immigrants is growing, if left in the current state, financial spending on illegal immigration is going to cost local and national governments more than it can allocate. Impacted most by this is government spending to cover medical costs and government aid to legal and illegal immigrants.

Most of the money paid out by governmental aid programs such as welfare and Medicaid are to legal and illegal immigrants, said Paul Cullinan, chief of the human resources cost estimates unit with the Congressional Budget Office. While there are many who pay taxes and Social Security, he said, it is still not enough to cover all the costs that are paid back.

Robert Rector, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, suggested that the government should also be more selective with those who are allowed to become citizens. He said the number of people entering without a high school diploma costs the government more in aid programs than those who have a higher education.

According to the CBO, the immigration legislation under consideration now would raise government spending by $126 billion in the next decade.

Along with the testimony, Allard also accepted written statements, which he said he will take with him to Washington.