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GOVERNOR
ASKS FEDS TO TAKE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT INMATES Federal
Government Owes Arizona at Least $71 Million PHOENIX – In a letter
to newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Governor Janet
Napolitano has asked the federal government to pay Arizona what it is owed for
incarceration of inmates – the “criminal aliens” – who are housed in
Arizona’s prison system. These are inmates who arrived in the country illegally, then
committed a crime in Arizona. Under
federal law (State Criminal Alien Assistance Program or SCAAP), those inmates
should be held in federal prisons, or the state must be reimbursed the cost of
keeping them in state prisons. The average daily cost of holding an inmate in an Arizona
prison in 2004 was approximately $53.44 per day; during that same year, the
state housed an average daily population of 3,642 illegal immigrant inmates.
Arizona is entitled to federal reimbursement of $71 million dollars for that period; yet the state was
actually only paid $6.8 million – a total of $64 million less than the actual
costs of housing the inmates. “This is just wrong,” said Governor Napolitano.
“Arizona has held up its end of the bargain, and has taken these
criminals off the streets. Yet, the
federal government has abandoned its job by refusing to pay for them.” “Arizonans already pay a high price for illegal
immigration. I’m demanding that
the federal government live up to its obligations and stop pushing the burden
onto the taxpayers of Arizona.” With her letter, the Governor also sent two
invoices. The first is for $40,602,376.00 – the amount due to the state
for holding SCAAP inmates between July 1 and December 31, 2004.
The second bills $77.3 million for inmates held between July 1, 2003 and
June 30, 2004. Governor Napolitano sent a first letter regarding SCAAP to
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on October 21, 2004.
Although there was a response, it did not sufficiently address the issue.
In this new recent letter, the Governor writes, “If you
cannot, or will not, pay these costs, then I hereby make formal demand that the
federal government take custody of the undocumented criminal aliens in our state
prisons and incarcerate them. Please
note that, among other things, we will continue to submit invoices to your
office until this matter is satisfactorily resolved.” The
letter asks for a response by February 24, 2005. |
