2006 COMMENTARY

July 17, 2006

Governor Sends Feds Bill for Illegal Alien Prisoners; Time to Cut State’s Bill as Well

By Victor Joecks

Today Governor Christine Gregoire sent US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a bill for $50 million—Washington's cost of imprisoning criminal illegal aliens in Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006.

Bravo! It's about time Washington state requested the federal government fulfill its obligation on this issue. The Governor correctly demanded "the US government fulfill its legal duty to reimburse Washington State taxpayers for the cost of carrying out this federal function."

To help the feds do their job on immigration control, Gregoire should also put an end to the fleecing of Washington taxpayers by eliminating state services and benefits for the state's non-incarcerated illegal aliens. When not being faulted in state audits for illegally using federal money on illegal aliens (such as the recent Medicaid audit), the state has gone out of its way to provide state funds to those ineligible for federal dollars.

The Governor's invoice to the feds is long overdue and worthy of praise. Based on this effort, the next logical step is for Gregoire to ensure the state isn't subverting federal immigration law and wasting state tax dollars in other areas by eliminating state services and benefits for non-legal individuals.

Perhaps the Governor's next effort will be tightening citizenship requirements for driver licenses and requiring proof of identification for voting. By reducing illegal aliens' incentives to come and stay in Washington, we'll help the feds by reducing the number in prison in the first place.

Additional Information
Governor's Letter to Gonzales

Victor Joecks is a Communications Assistant for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. He works with the Communications Department to promote EFF’s mission to the public, policy makers, and media. He frequently does radio interviews and speaking engagements on behalf of EFF.

Prior to working in Communications, Victor was a Policy Analyst for EFF’s Economic Policy Center and Voter Integrity Project. He has been published in numerous state newspapers, including the Seattle Times, News Tribune, and Olympian, and on Human Events Online. He majored in History and Math at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

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