Article published Jan 12, 2008
Miller supports illegal-alien impact study
January 12, 2008

By Tom LoBianco - ANNAPOLIS — Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. yesterday said he would support a proposal for a task force to study how much the state spends providing services to illegal aliens.

Mr. Miller, who blocked a plan last year to grant in-state tuition to illegal aliens, said the costs of aliens on the state needs to be addressed.

"It's an important task force just so that we can inform ourselves what the true costs, the true expenses and the true benefits are, if any," Mr. Miller, Southern Maryland Democrat, told senators yesterday.

The Senate president made the comments days after a Fox 5/The Washington Times/Rasmussen Reports poll showed that two-thirds of Marylanders think state police should be allowed to check a driver's immigration status during a traffic stop.

More than half, or 55 percent, said that anyone found to be in the U.S. illegally during that traffic stop should be deported, according to the poll released Monday.

More than three-quarters of Marylanders also said illegal aliens should not be granted a driver's license.

A spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley said the governor would consider the bill if it reaches his desk. Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, last year supported granting in-state tuition to illegal aliens.

A spokeswoman for House Speaker Michael E. Busch, Anne Arundel Democrat, said he has not reviewed the proposal yet.

Mr. Miller said other states, including North Carolina, have studied the economic impact of illegal aliens.

Democratic legislators in Virginia have introduced more than 100 bills designed to crack down on illegal aliens —from denying bail to criminal aliens to establishing a special police force to track illegal aliens.

Across Maryland, the issue has split localities.

Montgomery County, which has three day-laborer centers, has helped illegal aliens find work. The county last month instituted a hiring freeze as officials attempt to close a $401 million budget shortfall.

In neighboring Frederick County, one county commissioner has proposed a constitutional convention to write restrictions against illegal aliens into the U.S. Constitution.

Anne Arundel County officials recently coordinated with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents on a raid that netted nine persons. They also require contractors doing work with the county to check their employees' immigration status.

Mr. Miller's endorsement of the proposal may have lent some support to the campaign of Sen. E.J. Pipkin, who is running to unseat Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest in the Republican primary and sponsored the bill.

"I think this really is a big distinction between people who like to talk about things and people like myself who like to get things done," said Mr. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican. "It shows that we got the right issue at the right time and that we are able to work to get things done."

State Sen. Andrew P. Harris, a Baltimore County Republican who is also running for the nomination, dismissed Mr. Pipkin's proposal to study the costs of illegal aliens, saying Mr. Miller's support proves his opponent is a "hero to Democrats."

"We don't need a study to know that illegal immigrants are not good for the state of Maryland and no good for the United States," Mr. Harris said.
http://washingtontimes.com/article/2008 ... 45372/1004