Thread: IN- Panel gets few cost answers on illegal immigration

Panel gets few cost answers on illegal immigration

Updated: Sep 17, 2008 09:13 AM CDT

Mike Smith/Associated Press

Indianapolis - Lawmakers who want to know how much money illegal immigration is costing public services in Indiana got few answers Tuesday.

Much of the Interim Committee on Immigration Issues' meeting was focused on trying to quantify the costs that illegal immigrants have on public services such as Medicaid, prisons and schools.

Mitch Roob, secretary of the state's Family and Social Services Administration, said the state has to pay part of the Medicaid costs for pregnancies and emergency medical care for illegal immigrants who can't afford them. That costs the state about $5 million a year, he said.

But officials with the state's child welfare agency and the departments of health, education and correction didn't have precise figures on what illegals are costing them.

The Department of Correction said it had 504 foreign born nationals in state prisons, and it will spend about $9.8 million on them this year.

But Randy Koester, deputy commissioner of administration for the agency, said he did not have a breakdown of how many of those foreign nationals were in the country illegally. He did say that those here illegally must serve out their sentences unless a judge orders differently or federal officials take them into custody.

It was the second of four fact-finding meetings, and a fifth meeting is planned to determine if the panel can reach consensus on recommended legislation for 2009 on an issue that was contentious last session.

The Republican-ruled Senate and Democrat-led House each passed different versions of bills earlier this year that would have punished employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, but they could not reach compromise on a final version.

Washington, D.C.-based Pew Hispanic Center has cited U.S. Census data and models in estimating there are about 100,000 undocumented people living in Indiana, but an official with the group testified last week that the number could be anywhere from 75,000 to 125,000.

Louis Moffa, a professor of civil rights and constitutional law at Rutgers University who has litigated cases involving immigration, said most studies he has seen show that undocumented workers are necessary to the U.S. economy.

He said the only two services they are entitled to are public education and emergency medical care, and in the case of schools, they are footing part of the bill through property taxes. Losing Indiana's undocumented workers could mean a $9 billion loss to the state's economy, he said.


But Republican Sen. Mike Delph of Carmel, who clashed with lobbyists, the business community and some lawmakers last session over his bill that would have punished employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, said people here illegally were breaking immigration laws the federal government is not enforcing.

"At what point do we have to draw the line in the sand and say we put principle over profit?" he asked.

Lauren Harvey, assistant director of English Language Learning and Migrant Education at the Indiana Department of Education, said in the 2007-2008 school year, there were nearly 35,000 students taking English as a second language. But because federal law prohibits public schools from asking about the citizenship status of children or their parents, it's not known how many are here illegally.

James Payne, director of the Department of Child Services said that services for abused, neglected or troubled youth have largely been funded through property taxes collected by each of the state's 92 counties.

The state will take over all the costs for those services next year, but under the previous system, the agency did not have sound data on how much of the money was being spent on illegal immigrants, Payne said. He said the state should have a better ability to track that soon.

Brian Carnes, director of legislative affairs for the State Department of Health, said it was impossible to determine how much illegals were costing its agency.

(Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)



http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=9024775

Check all I9s and E-Verify them. The immigrants will leave.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Every state needs to be required by ICE to E-Verify all immigrants.

end SEGREGATION - That is what American Schools have taught via our government purposes. Americans have been dumbed down to accept the invasion of immigrants. But have Third World Countries ended SEGREGATION?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
REQUIRE THE GOVERNMENT TO E -VERIFY ALL I-9S GETTING HIRED BY NC EMPLOYERS VIA THE NC STATE UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICES.

NC STATE UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICES ONLY E-VERIFIES I-9S OF AGRICULTURAL IMMIGRANTS.

Please go and read my information about I-9s at post:

Louis Moffa, a professor of civil rights and constitutional law at Rutgers University who has litigated cases involving immigration, said most studies he has seen show that undocumented workers are necessary to the U.S. economy.

Oh, bullcrap, moosecrap and duck crap, professor. What is necessary for the US economy is the American consumer being vibrant and how can anyone be a vibrant consumer when they don't have a job?

Losing Indiana's undocumented workers could mean a $9 billion loss to the state's economy, he said.

Really? Show me the money! What is this number based on hmmm? How many illegal aliens pay property taxes? Through their rent you say? Riddle me this.. 3 "families" sharing on home with 6-20 kids between them, how much of that RENT they are paying is covering the cost of educating their anchor babies???

Let's put it this way, the illegal aliens that are here now, economy is super crappy, how much MORE are we losing now anyway?

And then the landlord takes the property taxes off on his/her taxes as an expense.

He said the only two services they are entitled to are public education and emergency medical care, and in the case of schools, they are footing part of the bill through property taxes. Losing Indiana's undocumented workers could mean a $9 billion loss to the state's economy, he said.

PLEASE!

Is this person CRAZY! Property taxes paid locally is taken off on the Federal Taxes by the LANDLORD!

So the Schooling and Medicare is paid by American Taxpayers.

Then guess what landlords can do; trade properties with some other person who is a landlord and start depreciation over by trading and this keeps landlords from paying taxes from the sale of property; so they are building equity without paying taxes while renting to ILLEGALS i

(FEDERAL TENANT LAWS ARE NEEDED!)