Speech #1030116379

I rise today with my colleague from Florida. and with the support of many others. to ask that the Federal Government be responsive to a problem of its own creation. This amendment permits. but does not require. the Attorney General of the United States to take custody of. or financial responsibility for. criminal aliens incarcerated in State prisons and jails. The flow of illegal immigrants into this country is a Federal problem. not a State problem. An individual State such as Florida can do nothing to prevent illegal immigration. This is solely the province of the Department of Justice. the Federal Customs Service and INS. Florida citizens. like those of California. New York. Texas. and Illinois. are weary of bearing the financial burden for the failure of these agencies to secure our borders. The injustice perpetuated upon the good citizens of our States are twofold: First. these aliens are able to circumvent our immigration system and illegally gain entry to our country. In many cases. this results in a drawdown of scarce State human resources funds. Federal reimbursement for unpaid medical bills and the educational costs for the children of these immigrants never fully compensates our States. Worse yet. some of these illegal aliens commit crimes. again subjecting the State taxpayers to paying the freight for incarceration costs. The fact of the matter is that these individuals would not be in our jails. and thus depleting our State resources if it werent for the failures of the Federal Government. It is not the fault of anyone in my State that the Customs Service didnt catch the boat coming in. or the passenger with fraudulent documents. Why should my constituents or those of any other State be forced to pay for their mistakes? In Florida alone. we have 3.433 illegal aliens serving time in our prisons. That comes out to $58.6 million in State taxpayer funds that could be going to keep more violent criminals behind bars for longer. The amendment we have offered is based on fundamental fairness and the notion that the Federal Government can and should be accountable for its failure to maintain control of our borders and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of its passage.