Speech #980043170

Senator BRADLEY. to provide 100percent reimbursement to State and local governments for the cost of providing assistance to newly legalized aliens. Mr. President. when we speak of illegal aliens. and of the legalization program proposed in the bill before us today. we suffer from a lack of accurate and specific information. No one knows just how many illegal aliens reside in the United States todaythe Bureau of the Census estimates the total was between 3.5 and 6 million in 1980. No one knows just how many will become temporary or permanent residents under the legalization proposal. And. as a result. no one knows just what legalization will cost. Under S. 529. newly legalized immigrants will be ineligible for almost every Federal assistance program. Judging from past court decisions. however. it would appear that State and local governments will be constitutionally required to extend eligibility for their programs to newly legalized aliens. Rough estimates indicate that the resulting costs to State and local governments will be quite significant. New York City. for example. estimates that S. 529 will result in additional costs of $40 to $45 million. The cost to New York State may exceed $200 million. These cost projections are based on estimates of at least 750.000 illegal immigrants in New York City. and over 1 million in the State. The block grant established in S. 529 cannot guarantee even a minimal reimbursement level. It provides no assurance to States and localities that they will be sufficiently compensated for the costs they incur as a result of this legislation. But while all the facts may not be known. the principle underlying this issue is clear. A weighty decision on immigration policy is about to be made at the Federal level. This is where such a decision ought to. and in fact must. be made. But the immigration bill. as currently written. unfairly would shift the cost of a Federal decision concerning social and medical services to newly legalized aliens on to State and local governments. and especially on to those areas with relatively large numbers of aliens. It is time we act on the growing problem of illegal aliens. and we must be ready. as a nation. to cover the costs of our actions. We cannot in good conscience pass the financial consequences of our decision on to State and local governments who are suffering their own budgetary difficulties. The Federal Government must remain accountable and responsible for the effects of its decisions.