Jailed illegal aliens costing Calif. big money

Dems press governor to obtain federal funding.

By David M. Drucker
From our Sacramento bureau

SACRAMENTO - Can Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger squeeze an extra $1
billion out of the Bush administration?
That's what some Democrats are asking as they step up pressure to get more
money to cover the costs of jailing illegal immigrants who commit

State Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, held a hearing

December to try and determine how much it costs California taxpayers to
imprison and supervise once paroled all foreign nationals, particularly

here illegally.

"This administration has got to step up to the plate," Romero said. "The

is ticking and the dollars are slipping away."

Romero says Schwarzenegger isn't necessarily to blame for the federal
government's failure to adequately reimburse the state, but she clearly
believes he hasn't applied enough pressure on his fellow Republicans at

White House and in Congress at a time when a dollar-for-dollar

could shave up to 15 percent from next year's projected budget deficit.

The California Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, an agency run by the
governor, said 28,672 of its 164,834 adult inmates have identified

as foreign-born, with 17,684 originating from Mexico. Of the 3,679

juveniles, 412 are foreign-born.

"It's safe to say a large majority came here illegally or overstayed their
visas," said spokesman J.P. Trembley.

It costs taxpayers $31,000 per year to house a prisoner, so the bill comes

about $750 million for illegal-immigrant felons and $900 million for all
foreign nationals.

Last year, Washington allocated $300 million to partially reimburse all 50
states that incarcerate foreign nationals, with $109 million going to
California, which gave $31.6 million to cities and counties.

The Schwarzenegger administration wants Washington to cover the full cost

immigration, particularly illegal immigration, is a federal

"This governor will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to secure a

fair share of federal dollars for the costs we are forced to bear in this
area," Schwarzenegger's chief budget spokesman H.D. Palmer said.

Schwarzenegger has worked with other border states to get more federal

and has lobbied Congress aggressively.

But it remains an uphill struggle, as it has for previous governors both
Democrat and Republican regardless of who was president or which party
controlled Congress.

"It is absolutely true the California taxpayer should not be carrying the
burden for a federal responsibility," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora.

Dreier, chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, said California's
congressional delegation regularly battles with influential senators who

rather not appropriate any money for prisoner reimbursement. In fact, the
Senate allocated just $50 million for the program in 2001 and no money for

in 2003.

Despite the fact that Bush was governor of a border state, Texas, Dreier

optimistic that much more money will be coming California's way.

"The White House has not been as supportive (of reimbursement) as I would

This is a struggle with them as well."