Los Angeles Times editorial: Sticking it to California

‘But the administration’s demand isn’t just wasteful; it’s duplicitous. Immigration is a responsibility of the federal government, not the state. In fact, the feds should be stepping up to pay the full costs for illegal immigrants. The presence of immigrants in California who lack the legal status to use many public services represents a dual failure on the part of the federal government: It has neither prevented illegal immigration nor enacted comprehensive immigration reform to resolve the conundrum within its borders. ‘Instead, California, which has no authority to change the situation, picks up the costs and is being called on to do the work of federal immigration agents as well, while the feds are held to no accountability for their own failures. Ordinarily, we’d say this dispute could be resolved amicably with an audit every five or 10 years to confirm whether the state’s statistical formula is accurate. But the administration’s demand is extortionate. True, the federal government shouldn’t be picking up part of the tab for 86% of the women aided by this valuable program. It should be helping to pay for all of them.’