Government Won't Pay All Of Immigrant Jail Costs

Saturday, January 6th 2007, 6:01 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma County will collect $622,675 from the federal government for holding 561 prisoners for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year.

But hundreds of additional immigrants -- the number was 1,429 in 2005 -- entered the county jail on state or local criminal charges last year, leaving the county with primary responsibility.

"They're on our nickel from the time they come in here until we're done with them," said Capt. David Baisden, who supervises support services for the Oklahoma County Jail.

"Then if the federal government has a hold on them, it's their nickel," Baisden said.

The government pays a generous $42.33 per diem for holding prisoners in local jails.

"They're one of the highest payers we have. It really comes in helpful from a revenue standpoint," Sheriff John Whetsel said.

As the immigration debate heated up last year, Oklahoma cities and counties with large numbers of illegal immigrants protested the division of responsibility for their incarceration. They argued that the government allows illegal immigration and should pay the cost of incarcerating criminals who entered the country illegally.

Supporters of that view include Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, who sent a $50 million invoice to the U.S. attorney general in July, and Colorado lawmakers who backed legislation directing the Colorado attorney general to seek compensation.

The federal government acknowledged some responsibility in 1994 when it established the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program to offset incarceration costs. But as more jurisdictions sought reimbursement, the program's funding was slashed. Now the Bush administration wants to do away with it.

K.C. Moon, director of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center, said the Justice Department currently thinks incarcerating lawbreakers is a local responsibility. Moon said jurisdictions will do the job with or without federal help.

"The federal government could stop paying entirely on this, and these people would still be arrested because the sheriffs would be doing what they're supposed to do, which is maintain public safety," he said.

The assistance program received 758 applications in federal fiscal year 2005 and paid out $287 million, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which administers the program. The state of Oklahoma and nine Oklahoma counties received a total of $748,643.

Oklahoma County received about $66,000 from the program last year for holding 1,429 illegal immigrants on criminal charges for a total of 4,537 days. That amounted to less than $15 a day for each approved inmate -- and many more were rejected.

Baisden said applying for the funds requires hours of work, beginning with a report identifying all the inmates held during the year who appeared to be illegal immigrants. Only those held four days or more qualify for reimbursement.

In the end, the program reimburses states for only about 14 percent of the "criminal aliens" they claimed in their applications, according to Moon"s calculations. He said the number of illegal immigrants in county jails may be higher because many counties never apply for reimbursement.

"So many sheriffs aren't bothering to fill out this paperwork. They see it as an arduous task, and they just won't do it," Moon said.

Even the relatively small sum the county collects would be missed if the program ends, Baisden said.

"Obviously, the more we can get reimbursed, the more we're going to like it. It's the federal government picking up part of their responsibility," he said.