Opposition to the Weldon and King Amendments to CJS Appropriations Bill

July 26, 2007

Dear Chairman Obey and Ranking Member Lewis:

On behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), I am writing to urge you to oppose the Weldon Amendment (Amendment no. 15) and the King amendment to the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Bill, H.R. 3093. These amendments would preempt state laws and policies as to the proper role of state law enforcement personnel in federal immigration matters by forcing states to enforce the federal responsibility of civil immigration enforcement, and punish states who do not undertake this federal responsibility by withholding valuable State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). NCSL maintains that the proper role of state law enforcement is to enforce state criminal laws, not to enforce federal civil immigration laws.

The SCAAP program is critical for states and differs from other federally funded criminal justice programs because it is not a grant program, but a reimbursement program under which states receive reimbursement for costs actually incurred for the arrest and incarceration of criminal aliens. An April, 2005 GAO report concluded that the federal government reimbursed the five states incarcerating 80 percent of these criminal aliens a paltry 25% of every dollar spent. The report also showed that the number of criminal aliens being incarcerated in the 50 states to be increasing at a rate of 15 % annually. Finally, the GAO report showed that the states’ cost to incarcerate these criminal aliens also increased by 15% annually, and that congressional appropriations decreased dramatically each year.

The cost of incarcerating illegal undocumented aliens is a burden borne not just by our “border” states,” but by every state. In 2006, SCAAP reimbursements were made to every state, two U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. As mentioned, the SCAAP program reimburses only a portion of state costs – correctional officer’s salaries – at a fraction of the total costs. State corrections budgets are tight and unable to absorb the cost of incarcerating these individuals. Furthermore, it is NCSL’s position that it should not just be state resources expended for what is actually a federal responsibility – immigration.

Again, I urge you to oppose the Weldon and King amendments to H.R. 3093. The SCAAP program is an important tool for states in their efforts to effectively keep criminal aliens behind bars. Removing this important state reimbursement as a “punishment” for failure to undertake what is and has always been a federal responsibility is both inappropriate and shameful. Please feel free to contact NCSL staff Susan Parnas Frederick (202)624-5400, susan.frederick@ncsl.org for further assistance. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Bill Pound
Executive Director
NCSL

Cc: Members of the House of Representatives