[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 135 (Thursday, October 7, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12239-S12243]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KYL (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. 
        Domenici, Mr. Bingaman, and Mrs. Feinstein):
  S. 1709. A bill to provide Federal reimbursement for indirect costs 
relating to the incarceration of illegal aliens and for emergency 
health services furnished to undocumented aliens; to the Committee on 
the Judiciary.


   the state criminal alien assistance program ii and local medical 
                      emergency reimbursement act

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the State Criminal 
Alien Assistance Program II and Local Medical Emergency Reimbursement 
Act. Senators McCain, Hutchison, Domenici, Bingaman, and Feinstein join 
me.
  Border counties and other jurisdictions throughout the Southwest are 
incurring overwhelming costs to process and incarcerate illegal 
immigrants who commit crimes. Hospitals are also bearing steep costs to 
treat illegal immigrants for medical emergencies.
  Regarding the first issue, it should be pointed out that, when states 
and localities do not have the resources to deal with criminal illegal 
immigrants, disasters can happen. Just last week, it was discovered 
that illegal immigrants who, in some cases, had committed serious 
crimes in Maricopa County, Arizona--including first degree murder in 
one of the cases--were permitted to post bond to the county, were then 
released to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and were then 
allowed to return to their home country. Needless to say, those cases 
did not go to trial. Because the alleged criminal aliens never returned 
for their court date, justice was not served.
  I continue to work toward better cooperation between the INS and 
local criminal justice systems, to make sure that illegal immigrants 
who are charged with crimes prosecuted under state law--and murder is 
prosecuted under state law--are held in Arizona. That means before, 
during, and after trial. It means, if the person is convicted, serving 
out his time in Arizona.
  I will continue to work toward full funding for the federal program 
Congress created in 1995 to reimburse states and localities for the 
costs of incarcerating criminal illegal immigrants, the State Criminal 
Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). Incarceration of criminal illegal 
immigrants costs state and local governments over $1 billion a year. 
Last year's Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill provided $585 
million for the program, and reimbursed states approximately 39 cents 
on the dollar for such costs. I will work to increase federal funding 
for SCAAP, and will work to ensure that the FY 2000 C-J-S funding bill 
maintains, at the very least, the FY 1999 funding level of $585 
million.
  It is my hope that the bill I am introducing today will further 
enhance the ability of states and localities to prevent the release of 
criminal illegal immigrants by giving them the resources they need, not 
only to incarcerate but to process and sentence such individuals. My 
bill creates SCAAP II and provides an additional authorization of $200 
million per year between 2001 and 2004 to states and localities for 
such expenditures. When illegal immigrants commit crimes and are then 
caught, they drain the budgets of a locality's sheriff, justice court, 
county attorney, clerk of the court, superior and juvenile court, and 
juvenile detention departments, as well as using up a county's indigent 
defense budget. And, even though illegal immigration is a federal 
responsibility, states and local jurisdictions all along the 
southwestern border have incurred 100 percent of specifically 
processing-related costs to date. This bill will change that.
  Unfortunately, we do not yet know the full financial burden the 
states and localities are bearing. I am hopeful that the FY 2000 
Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill conference report will 
include funding for a study that will lay out realistic estimates of 
these costs.
  What is known is that such expenditures comprise approximately 39 
percent of the aforementioned budgets of just one Arizona county, Santa 
Cruz, with a population of just 36,000 residents. As a recent report 
conducted by the University of Arizona detailed, ``such illegal entry 
pressures place inequitable demands on the resources and taxpayers of 
Santa Cruz County.''
  Other counties throughout the Southwest are in the same boat. 
Maricopa County, Arizona, for example, incurs costs of $9 million to 
incarcerate illegal criminal immigrants. It is unclear what its costs 
are to process and sentence such aliens. Cochise County incurs costs of 
approximately $406,000 per year to incarcerate criminal illegal 
immigrants and, therefore, must also incur significant costs to process 
and sentence these individuals. Providing resources to states and 
localities with such burdens will help prevent the release of criminals 
onto our nation's streets, and is clearly the financial responsibility 
of the federal government.
  The second issue addressed by this bill is the burden borne by 
hospitals in southwestern states. The federal government is obligated 
to fully reimburse states, localities, and hospitals for the emergency 
medical treatment of illegal immigrants.
  According to a preliminary Congressional Budget Office estimate 
provided two years ago, the total annual cost to treat illegal 
immigrants for medical emergencies is roughly $2.8 billion a

[[Page S12240]]

year. It is roughly estimated that the federal government reimburses 
states for approximately half of those costs. That means states must 
pay the remaining $1.4 billion. The state of Arizona estimates that it 
incurs unreimbursed costs of $20 million annually to treat undocumented 
immigrants on an emergency basis.
  This legislation will provide states, localities, and hospitals an 
additional $200 million per year to help absorb the costs of adherence 
to federal law, under which all individuals, regardless of immigration 
status or ability to pay, must be provided with medical treatment in a 
medical emergency. I have heard from individual doctors in Arizona, and 
hospitals as well, conveying their frustration in the face of these 
daunting costs.
  Mr. President, I hope we can address these very pressing issues in 
the coming months, and that Members will consider joining my cosponsors 
and me in support of this bill.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1709

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``State Criminal Alien 
     Assistance Program II and Local Medical Emergency 
     Reimbursement Act''.

          TITLE I--STATE CRIMINAL ALIEN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM II

     SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``State Criminal Alien 
     Assistance Program II Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Federal policies and strategies aimed at curbing 
     illegal immigration and criminal alien activity implemented 
     along our Nation's southwest border influence the number of 
     crossings, especially their location.
       (2) States and local governments were reimbursed 
     approximately 60 percent of the costs of the incarceration of 
     criminal aliens in fiscal year 1996 when only 90 
     jurisdictions applied for such reimbursement. In subsequent 
     years, the number of local jurisdictions receiving 
     reimbursement has increased. For fiscal year 1999, 280 local 
     jurisdictions applied, and reimbursement amounted to only 40 
     percent of the costs incurred by those jurisdictions.
       (3) Certain counties, often with a small taxpayer base, 
     located on or near the border across from sometimes highly 
     populated areas of Mexico, suffer a substantially 
     disproportionate share of the impact of criminal illegal 
     aliens on its law enforcement and criminal justice systems.
       (4) A University of Arizona study released in January 1998 
     reported that at least 2 of the 4 counties located on 
     Arizona's border of Mexico, Santa Cruz, and Cochise Counties, 
     are burdened with this problem--
       (A) for example, in 1998, Santa Cruz County had 12.7 
     percent of Arizona's border population but 50 percent of 
     alien crossings and 32.5 percent of illegal alien 
     apprehensions;
       (B) for fiscal year 1998, it is estimated that, of its 
     total criminal justice budget of 5,000,000 ($5,033,000), 
     Santa Cruz County spent $1,900,000 (39 percent) to process 
     criminal illegal aliens, of which over half was not 
     reimbursed by Federal monies; and
       (C) Santa Cruz County has not obtained relief from this 
     burden, despite repeated appeals to Federal and State 
     officials.
       (5) In the State of Texas, the border counties of Cameron, 
     Dimmit, El Paso, Hidalgo, Kinney, Val Verde, and Webb bore 
     the unreimbursed costs of apprehension, prosecution, indigent 
     defense, and other related services for criminal aliens who 
     served more than 142,000 days in county jails.
       (6) Throughout Texas nonborder counties bore similar 
     unreimbursed costs for apprehension, prosecution, indigent 
     defense, and other related services for criminal aliens who 
     served more than 1,000,000 days in county jails.
       (7) The State of Texas has incurred substantial additional 
     unreimbursed costs for State law enforcement efforts made 
     necessary by the presence of criminal illegal aliens.
       (8) The Federal Government should reimburse States and 
     units of local government for the related costs incurred by 
     the State for the imprisonment of any illegal alien.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this title is--
       (1) to assist States and local communities by providing 
     financial assistance for expenditures for illegal juvenile 
     aliens, and for related costs to States and units of local 
     government that suffer a substantially disproportionate share 
     of the impact of criminal illegal aliens on their law 
     enforcement and criminal justice systems; and
       (2) to ensure equitable treatment for those States and 
     local governments that are affected by Federal policies and 
     strategies aimed at curbing illegal immigration and criminal 
     alien activity implemented on the southwest border.

     SEC. 103. REIMBURSEMENT OF STATES FOR INDIRECT COSTS RELATING 
                   TO THE INCARCERATION OF ILLEGAL ALIENS.

       Section 501 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 
     1986 (8 U.S.C. 1365) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``for'' and all that 
     follows through ``State'' and inserting ``for--
       ``(1) the costs incurred by the State for the imprisonment 
     of any illegal alien or Cuban national who is convicted of a 
     felony by such State; and
       ``(2) the indirect costs related to the imprisonment 
     described in paragraph (1).'';
       (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
       ``(c) Indirect Costs Defined.--In subsection (a), the term 
     `indirect costs' includes--
       ``(1) court costs, county attorney costs, and criminal 
     proceedings expenditures that do not involve going to trial;
       ``(2) indigent defense; and
       ``(3) unsupervised probation costs.''; and
       (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
       ``(d) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 to carry out 
     subsection (a)(2) for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 
     2004.''.

     SEC. 104. REIMBURSEMENT OF STATES FOR COSTS OF INCARCERATING 
                   JUVENILE ALIENS.

       (a) In General.--Section 501 of the Immigration Reform and 
     Control Act of 1986 (8 U.S.C. 1365), as amended by section 
     103 of this Act, is further amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ``or illegal 
     juvenile alien who has been adjudicated delinquent or 
     committed to a juvenile correctional facility by such State 
     or locality'' before the semicolon;
       (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ``(including any 
     juvenile alien who has been adjudicated delinquent or has 
     been committed to a correctional facility)'' before ``who is 
     in the United States unlawfully''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Juvenile Alien Defined.--In this section, the term 
     `juvenile alien' means an alien (as defined in section 
     101(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) who has 
     been adjudicated delinquent or committed to a correctional 
     facility by a State or locality as a juvenile offender.''.
       (b) Annual Report.--Section 332 of the Illegal Immigration 
     Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 
     1366) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (3);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) the number of illegal juvenile aliens (as defined in 
     section 501(f) of the Immigration Reform and Control Act) 
     that are committed to State or local juvenile correctional 
     facilities, including the type of offense committed by each 
     juvenile.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 241(i)(3)(B) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)(3)(B)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (ii);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of clause (iii) and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iv) is a juvenile alien with respect to whom section 501 
     of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 applies.''.

     SEC. 105. REIMBURSEMENT OF STATES BORDERING MEXICO OR CANADA.

       Section 501 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 
     1986 (8 U.S.C. 1365), as amended by sections 103 and 104 of 
     this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(g) Manner of Allotment of Reimbursements.--
     Reimbursements under this section shall be allotted in a 
     manner that takes into account special consideration for any 
     State that--
       ``(1) shares a border with Mexico or Canada; or
       ``(2) includes within the State an area in which a large 
     number of undocumented aliens reside relative to the general 
     population of the area.''.

 TITLE II--REIMBURSEMENT OF STATES AND LOCALITIES FOR EMERGENCY HEALTH 
                    SERVICES TO UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS.

     SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT 
                   OF EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICES FURNISHED TO 
                   UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS.

       (a) Total Amount Available for Allotment.--To the extent of 
     available appropriations under subsection (e), there are 
     available for allotments under this section for each of 
     fiscal years 2002 through 2005, $200,000,000 for payments to 
     certain States under this section.
       (b) State Allotment Amount.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall compute an allotment 
     for each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2001 and 
     ending with fiscal year 2004 for each of the 17 States with 
     the highest number of undocumented aliens. The amount of such 
     allotment for each such State for a fiscal year shall bear 
     the same ratio to the total amount available for allotments 
     under subsection (a) for the fiscal year as the ratio of the 
     number of undocumented aliens in the State in the fiscal year 
     bears to the total of such numbers for all such States for 
     such fiscal year. The amount of allotment to a State provided 
     under this paragraph for a fiscal year that is not paid out

[[Page S12241]]

     under subsection (c) shall be available for payment during 
     the subsequent fiscal year.
       (2) Determination.--For purposes of paragraph (1), the 
     number of undocumented aliens in a State under this section 
     shall be determined based on estimates of the resident 
     illegal alien population residing in each State prepared by 
     the Statistics Division of the Immigration and Naturalization 
     Service as of October 1992 (or as of such later date if such 
     date is at least 1 year before the beginning of the fiscal 
     year involved).
       (c) Use of Funds.--
       (1) In general.--From the allotments made under subsection 
     (b) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall pay to each State 
     amounts described in a State plan, submitted to the 
     Secretary, under which the amounts so allotted will be paid 
     to local governments, hospitals, and related providers of 
     emergency health services to undocumented aliens in a manner 
     that--
       (A) takes into account--
       (i) each eligible local government's, hospital's or related 
     provider's payments under the State plan approved under title 
     XIX of the Social Security Act for emergency medical services 
     described in section 1903(v)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1396b(v)(2)(A)) for such fiscal year; or
       (ii) an appropriate alternative proxy for measuring the 
     volume of emergency health services provided to undocumented 
     aliens by eligible local governments, hospitals, and related 
     providers for such fiscal year; and
       (B) provides special consideration for local governments, 
     hospitals, and related providers located in--
       (i) a county that shares a border with Mexico or Canada; or
       (ii) an area in which a large number of undocumented aliens 
     reside relative to the general population of the area.
       (2) Special rules.--For purposes of this subsection:
       (A) A provider shall be considered to be ``related'' to a 
     hospital to the extent that the provider furnishes emergency 
     health services to an individual for whom the hospital also 
     furnishes emergency health services.
       (B) Amounts paid under this subsection shall not duplicate 
     payments made under title XIX of the Social Security Act for 
     the provision of emergency medical services described in 
     section 1903(v)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)(2)(A)).
       (d) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Hospital.--The term ``hospital'' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 1861(e) of the Social Security Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1395x(e).
       (2) Provider.--The term ``provider'' includes a physician, 
     another health care professional, and an entity that 
     furnishes emergency ambulance services.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services.
       (4) State.--The term ``State'' means the 50 States and the 
     District of Columbia.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.

  Mr. McCain. Mr. President, I rise today in support of legislation 
Senator Kyl and I are introducing with a number of our border-state 
colleagues to provide appropriate Federal reimbursement to states and 
localities whose budgets are disproportionately affected by the costs 
associated with illegal immigration. The premise of our bill, and of 
current law governing this type of Federal reimbursement to the states, 
is that controlling illegal immigration is principally the 
responsibility of the Federal government, not the states.
  Our legislation would expand the amount and scope of Federal funding 
to the states for incarceration and medical costs that arise from the 
detention or treatment of illegal immigrants. Such funding currently 
flows to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. 
territories. Although our bill gives special consideration to border 
States and States with unusually high concentrations of illegal aliens 
in residence, it would benefit communities across the Nation. It 
deserves the Senate's prompt consideration and approval.
  Many of my colleagues are probably not aware that the Federal 
government, under the existing State Criminal Alien Assistance Program 
(SCAAP), reimbursed states and counties burdened by illegal immigration 
for less than 40 percent of eligible alien incarceration costs in 
Fiscal Year 1998. Border counties estimate that more than 25 percent of 
their criminal justice budgets are spent processing criminal aliens. In 
my State of Arizona, Santa Cruz County last year spent 39 percent of 
its total criminal justice budget to process criminal illegal aliens, 
of which over half was not reimbursed by the Federal government. In its 
last budget cycle, New Mexico's tiny Luna County spent $375,000 on 
immigrant detention costs but received only $32,000 from the Federal 
government to offset jail expenses. Overall, SCAAP reimbursed states 
and counties along the border for only 33.7 percent of the cost of 
incarcerating illegal aliens in FY 1997 and 39.9 percent in FY 1998.
  The State of California spent nearly $600 million last year to keep 
criminal aliens behind bars, but was reimbursed for only $183 million 
of those expenses. In Texas, prosecution of drug and immigration crime, 
principally in the form of illegal entry into the United States, 
accounted for an astonishing 70 percent of criminal filings during 
fiscal 1998. That figure represents a one-year increase of 58 percent 
in the number of immigration cases brought before the courts, an 
increase that was not matched by Federal reimbursement for associated 
legal expenses and incarceration costs to the state and its counties.
  Earlier this year, the House voted to fund SCAAP at $585 million for 
FY 2000. This level is insufficient, but would at least roughly 
maintain existing levels of Federal support to states and localities 
for alien incarceration costs. Astonishingly, the Senate, in its 
version of the fiscal year 2000 Commerce, Justice, State, and the 
Judiciary Appropriations bill, proposed to slash SCAAP funding by 83 
percent, to only $100 million, for reasons that escape me. In the words 
of the U.S./Mexico Border Counties Coalition, ``Given this program's 
history of not meeting its obligations to state and local governments 
even at higher levels of funding, this latest action will in essence 
leave state and local taxpayers to foot the Federal government's bill 
for the incarceration of criminal undocumented immigrants.''
  A June 21, 1999, letter from the Governors of Arizona, California, 
New York, New Jersey, and Illinois to members of the United States 
Senate makes the same point: ``Control of the nation's borders is under 
the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal government, yet State and 
local governments bear the brunt of the costs when the Federal 
government fails to meet its responsibility to prevent illegal 
immigration. By cutting funding for SCAAP by 83 percent, the Senate is 
abandoning its responsibility and forcing the states to pay for a 
Federally mandated service.'' It is my hope that Congress will restore 
SCAAP funding to at least $500 million, as the President requested for 
fiscal 2000 to help meet the needs of local communities across the 
country.
  The legislation Senator Kyl and I are introducing today would 
actually expand the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program by 
authorizing funding for state and local needs that currently go unmet. 
Although states receive Federal reimbursement for part of the cost of 
incarcerating illegal adult aliens, the Federal government does not 
reimburse States or units of local government for expenditures for 
illegal juvenile aliens. Nor does it reimburse states and localities 
for costs associated with processing criminal illegal aliens, including 
court costs, county attorney costs, costs for criminal proceedings that 
do not involve going to trial, indigent defense costs, and unsupervised 
probation costs. Our legislation would authorize the Federal government 
to reimburse such costs to States and localities that suffer a 
substantially disproportionate share of the impact of criminal illegal 
aliens on their law enforcement and criminal justice systems. It would 
also authorize additional Federal reimbursement for emergency health 
services furnished by States and localities to undocumented aliens.
  Reimbursement to States and localities for criminal alien 
incarceration is woefully underfunded according to the existing limited 
criteria for SCAAP, which do not take into account the full detention 
and processing costs for illegal aliens. Nor does the existing SCAAP 
provide necessary support to local communities for the cost of 
emergency care for illegal immigrants, a growing problem in the 
Southwest, and one exacerbated by the increasingly desperate measures 
taken by undocumented aliens to cross our border with Mexico. Our 
legislation thus authorizes the expansion of SCAAP to cover costs 
wrongly borne by local communities under current law--costs which are a 
Federal responsibility and should not be shirked by those in Washington 
who do not live with the problem of illegal immigration in their midst.
  As my colleagues know, illegal immigrants who successfully transit 
our

[[Page S12242]]

Southwest border rapidly disperse throughout the United States. That 
SCAAP funds flow to all 50 states reflects the pressures such aliens 
place on public services around the country. I hope the Senate will act 
expeditiously on this important legislation to alleviate those 
pressures by compensating state and local units for the costs they 
incur as unwitting hosts to undocumented aliens, even as we continue to 
fund border enforcement measures to reduce the flow of illegal 
immigrants into this country.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise to join with my colleagues from 
Arizona, California, and Texas in introducing the ``State Criminal 
Alien Assistance Program II and Local Medical Emergency Reimbursement 
Act of 1999.''
  The purpose of the bill is to expand to scope of the current SCAAP 
law to allow counties and states to be reimbursed not only for the 
costs of incarcerating illegal aliens, but also for the costs of 
prosecuting them, defending them and detaining them. Currently, SCAAP 
only pays for the costs of incarcerating illegal aliens convicted of a 
felony in the United States. This means that counties and states do not 
get reimbursed for the indirect and direct costs leading to such a 
conviction. Because many illegal aliens arrested for drug smuggling or 
alien smuggling by federal agents are prosecuted by the county 
prosecutors, this has put an enormous strain on the county's 
prosecution budgets and has burdened the already struggling indigent 
defense programs. With the expansion of SCAAP, the counties will 
finally get some relief.
  Another positive change to the SCAAP law is the addition of juvenile 
incarceration as a reimbursable expense. Many drug traffickers are 
using teenagers to transport drugs across the border, knowing that we 
do not currently have a good system for dealing with criminal illegal 
juvenile aliens. Because these teens' parents are not living in the 
United States, the county jails are required to detain the teens 
pending adjudication. The other option is to let the teens go. Neither 
option is good from a law enforcement perspective, but the cost of 
detaining a juvenile places an enormous burden on the counties' 
juvenile detention facilities. I am pleased that this bill considered 
the counties' concerns and included the costs of detaining juveniles as 
a reimbursable expense.
  In 1994 I supported the original SCAAP bill. Between 1996 and 1999, 
the federal government has reimbursed the State of New Mexico $4.5 
million for costs incurred in incarcerating criminal illegal aliens 
under this program. New Mexico counties have been reimbursed more than 
$1.4 million for similar costs. However, this $6 million reimbursement 
represents but a small fraction of the actual costs expended by New 
Mexico jails and prisons. This bill seeks to increase the amount 
available for reimbursement by raising the amount authorized to $200 
million between 2002 and 2005.
  The second part of this bill addresses another problem facing the 
border states. Because many towns near the US-Mexico border are a mere 
stones throw away from much larger Mexican towns and cities, many 
Mexican nationals often cross the border illegally in search of 
emergency medical services due to the lack of adequate facilities in 
Mexico. This bill will reimburse the health care providers required to 
provide emergency medical services to illegal aliens.
  The border counties in New Mexico have repeatedly expressed their 
concern about the lack of federal assistance for emergency medical 
services provided to undocumented immigrants. Yet, under current law, 
New Mexico border communities are not eligible to be reimbursed for 
providing such emergency medical services. This has placed a 
significant financial burden on the public and private hospitals who 
are just trying to do what they think is right--provide emergency 
treatment to those in need. This lack of federal assistance has been 
very detrimental to New Mexico because the number of undocumented 
immigrants seeking medical attention in New Mexico is very high 
compared with the population of the New Mexico border community.
  Between January 1, 1999 and August 31, 1999, Mimbres Memorial 
Hospital in Deming, New Mexico reported that 22 percent of its patients 
that were unable to pay for their medical care were residents of 
Mexico. These individuals accounted for $379,311 in charges that had to 
be absorbed by this hospital. In a town of roughly 10,000 people, this 
is a sizeable amount for a local hospital to write-off as 
uncollectible.
  With the passage of this bill, New Mexico will be eligible to 
participate in this federal reimbursement program. Because the 
authorized amount for this program will be increased to $200 million 
between 2002 and 2005, this change will not affect the reimbursements 
to other states. This increase in funding is sorely needed to 
adequately address the financial burdens that illegal immigration 
imposes on the border communities.
  I commend my fellow members of the Senate Southwest Border Caucus for 
working together on a bill what will make these necessary changes to 
the SCAAP program and address the financial hardship that illegal 
immigration imposes on our border communities.
  I thank Senator Kyl for introducing this bill and I encourage the 
Senate to take up this bill and pass this worthwhile legislation.
 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President I am pleased to join my 
colleague Senator Kyl in introducing the ``State Criminal Alien 
Assistance Program II and Local Medical Emergency Reimbursement Act.''
  The control of illegal immigration is a Federal responsibility. 
However, more and more, this burden is shifting to the states. The 
``State Criminal Alien Assistance Program II and Local Medical 
Emergency Reimbursement Act'' (SCAAP II), properly shifts the fiscal 
burden of illegal immigration into the hands of the Federal Government. 
This bill builds upon the existing Federal obligations under the 
``State Criminal Alien Assistance Program'' (SCAAP I) by providing $200 
million for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2005 to help border 
communities defray the indirect costs of illegal immigration, and an 
additional $200 million to help state and local governments cope with 
the cost of providing emergency medical care to illegal immigrants.
  The issue of illegal immigration, is one of national consequence that 
requires a Federal response. Unfortunately, Federal reimbursements have 
consistently failed to cover the actual costs borne by States and local 
communities confronting the effects of illegal immigration. For those 
communities that continue to shoulder this burden, the control of 
illegal immigration has become an unfunded mandate.
  Mr. President, while I consider illegal immigration an issue that 
pervades communities across the nation, I would like to share with my 
colleagues how this issue has affected my home State of California. As 
you might imagine, the border counties in California are among the 
hardest hit in terms of dollars spent on incarceration, court costs, 
and emergency medical care for those who have entered the U.S. 
illegally.
  San Diego County, for example, spent an estimated $10.1 million in 
1998 to cover the costs of illegal alien incarceration and spends an 
estimated $50 million annually to provide emergency medical care for 
illegal immigrants. Imperial County estimates that it spent more than 
$4 million last year in detention costs and another $1.36 million in 
emergency medical expenses.
  I am greatly concerned about the disproportionate burden these costs 
impose on the criminal justice system, hospitals and residents of San 
Diego and Imperial Counties, especially given the counties' limited tax 
base and fiscal resources. Given what I have witnessed in my own state, 
it is not hard for me to understand the frustration and concern of 
communities in a growing number of other states. Similar burdens have 
fallen on border communities in states like Arizona, New Mexico, and 
Texas. Each year, the costs borne by states to respond to illegal 
immigration continue to soar, while Federal involvement remains minimal 
at best.
  Unfortunately, we can only expect these costs for border states to 
swell over the next few years as border enforcement initiatives force 
illegal migration to shift further eastward from San Diego County to 
neighboring southern States and counties as well as to the more porous 
northern state borders. In launching Operation Gatekeeper, for example, 
the INS has

[[Page S12243]]

achieved considerable success in deterring illegal border crossings 
along the San Diego border.
  At the same time, Gatekeeper has had the effect of shifting a large 
volume of migrant crossings to the more rugged East San Diego County 
mountain area and the desert region of Imperial County where there have 
been numerous instances of illegal immigrants in need of emergency 
care. One county hospital in El Centro, for example, reports that the 
Border Patrol has dropped off countless numbers of undocumented aliens 
found in the desert suffering from hypothermia or dehydration, or from 
broken limbs and fractured skulls as result of failed attempts at 
scaling the fence along the San Diego border.
  The more ``fortunate'' border crossers are being detained at state 
and county jails. Although states receive Federal reimbursement for 
some of the direct costs of incarcerating adult illegal immigrants, the 
Federal Government does not reimburse states and localities for the 
indirect costs relating to the incarceration or the control of illegal 
aliens, including: court costs, county attorney costs, indigent 
defense, criminal juvenile detention, and unsupervised probation costs. 
Nor does it compensate state and local hospitals for the emergency 
medical care provided to illegal immigrants who are not in Federal 
custody.
  Mr. President, I join my colleagues in introducing the SCAAP II bill 
in hopes that it will alleviate some of the fiscal strains illegal 
immigration has imposed on border states and communities. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to move it through the 
Senate.

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