So Unfair It’s Almost a Crime : States’ huge cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants is target of crime bill amendment

When the House debates the all-important crime bill this week, every member of the California delegation should support an amendment that would require the federal government to either reimburse state and local governments for the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants who have committed felonies or take the prisoners into federal custody. Washington created this burden and should provide relief.

The amendment, sponsored by Reps. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), Gary A. Condit (D-Ceres) and Karen L. Thurman, a Florida Democrat, wouldn’t become mandatory until 1998. That delay would give Washington time to gain better control of U.S. borders. The delay also would allow Congress time to find the money. Finding money for new federal spending is always a challenge because of competing political and geographical priorities--not to mention the huge federal deficits.

Reimbursing states is not a new idea. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) authorizes Washington to reimburse states for much of the expense generated by immigration. But that act is meaningless without a significant appropriation. So far, not enough dollars have been forthcoming.

The cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants is estimated at $600 million annually. That figure is based on an estimate of 30,000 undocumented immigrants incarcerated at a cost of $20,000 each per year. That’s a huge expense for states to bear.

Although absolute numbers are hard to come by, Gov. Pete Wilson estimates that California will spend $403 million from the fiscal 1995 budget to imprison more than 18,000 illegal immigrant felons.

Florida, New York and Texas shoulder similar financial loads. These states’ large congressional delegations also should strongly support this amendment.

The California delegation rarely finds consensus because of the extreme political differences among its members, but certainly every member can agree that Washington must take on the costs of immigration, which is ultimately a federal responsibility.

Freeing up the millions that California spends on jailing illegal non-citizens would allow the state to spend more on law enforcement and, just as important, on crime prevention.

Right now it’s almost a crime that the states are forced to unfairly bear the costs of federal neglect of immigration policy.