Dan Genz, The Examiner
2008-05-09 07:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Legislation moving through Congress would increase federal reimbursements for the millions of dollars state and local governments spend jailing illegal immigrants each year as more communities pursue aggressive enforcement.

The House this week approved a measure that would consider far more state and local inmates eligible for federal reimbursement, while the Senate has approved legislation more than doubling spending for the program from $417 million to $950 million.

More communities throughout the U.S. are pursuing aggressive enforcement policies against illegal immigrants as they claim the federal government is not doing the job; locally, Prince William County this year established a much-publicized crackdown on illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

The House measure would give jail officials more authority to apply for federal funding through the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. Jail officials can be reimbursed only for those who have been convicted; the bill would allow reimbursement for inmates who have been charged with multiple misdemeanors or felonies. The measure is expected to pass the Senate.

President Bush proposed scrapping the program this year in his budget, but lawmakers instead are seeking to bolster its resources.

“This is a federal responsibility, and the federal government should not shortchange state and local governments,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said on her Web site, calling current practices “patently unfair.”

In an example of the local government’s struggles trying to win federal funding, Prince William County says it spends about double what it charges the federal government for housing illegal immigrants in its overcrowded jail. The facility is seeking to increase its charges for each prisoner from $65 per day to $115.

While California Democrats have helped lead the effort, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, an anti-illegal-immigration champion who personally endorsed Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart in last year’s election, also supports the added funding and additional power as ways to increase the scope of local enforcement.

“More than anything else, it is a recognition by the part of the federal government. Their failure to control illegal immigration is having a profound impact on state and local governments,” said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the anti-illegal-immigration Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform. “These states are really taking it on the chin.”

dgenz@dcexaminer.com