[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 41 (Thursday, March 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S1846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Kyl, Mr. McCain, Mr. Schumer, 
        Mrs. Boxer, and Mrs. Hutchison):
  S. 638. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
provide for compensation to States incarcerating undocumented aliens 
charged with a felony or two or more misdemeanors; to the Committee on 
the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today Senator Kyl and I are 
introducing two bills that will assist with alleviating the costs of 
illegal immigration for State and local governments--the SCAAP 
Reauthorization Act and the SCAAP Reimbursement Protection Act of 2011.
  We are joined by Senators McCain, Schumer, Boxer, and Hutchison. 
  Immigration is a federal responsibility, as is securing the Nation's 
borders. When the Federal Government fails to prevent illegal 
immigration, as it has for some time now, it needs to take 
responsibility for the consequences of this failure.
  However, the burden of incarcerating illegal aliens who commit crimes 
in our country has fallen largely to the States, and it weighs heavily 
on them, especially during this time of economic uncertainty. Last 
year, the State of California spent an estimated $1 billion to 
incarcerate criminal aliens.
  Understanding the expenses that States and localities bear, Congress 
enacted the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, SCAAP, in 1994 as 
part of the Violent Crime Control Act. The program was designed to help 
reimburse States and local governments for the costs of incarcerating 
criminal aliens, and was last reauthorized in 2006 as part of a 
Department of Justice Reauthorization bill. The SCAAP Reauthorization 
bill that I am introducing today will reauthorize the program for an 
additional four years, until fiscal year 2015.
  The second bill that we are introducing today is necessary to fix a 
switch in interpretation by the Justice Department.
  Prior to 2003, the Department of Justice interpreted the SCAAP 
statute to include reimbursement to States and localities for 
incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens who have been accused or 
convicted of State and local offenses, and have been incarcerated for a 
minimum of 72 hours. However, in 2003, DOJ changed its interpretation, 
and began limiting reimbursement to the amount States and localities 
spend incarcerating convicted criminal aliens for at least 4 
consecutive days.
  Reimbursing States and localities only for the costs when a criminal 
alien is convicted and incarcerated for 4 consecutive days 
significantly undermines the goal of SCAAP that States and localities 
should not bear the burden of a broken Federal immigration system. The 
actual costs of this failed Federal system begin when these aliens are 
charged with a crime, transported, and incarcerated for any length of 
time.
  This narrow interpretation by the Justice Department is even more 
devastating because SCAAP is consistently under-funded. The President's 
fiscal year 2012 budget request for SCAAP represents a 59 percent 
reduction below the fiscal year 2010 level and is far short of meeting 
the actual reimbursement costs of most States. As a result, SCAAP only 
reimburses States for a fraction of the costs of incarcerating criminal 
aliens. In 2009, Los Angeles County alone spent $116.6 million to house 
undocumented felons and received only $15.4 million in reimbursement 
payments.
  The SCAAP Reimbursement Protection Act of 2011 will fix this problem 
by making it clear that States can be reimbursed for the full costs of 
incarcerating aliens who are either charged with or convicted of a 
felony or two misdemeanors.
  When the Federal Government does not reimburse States and local 
governments for the costs of incarcerating criminal aliens, it is at 
the expense of local services and law enforcement. American communities 
simply cannot afford to shoulder the weight of our immigration 
policies.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 638

       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 ``SCAAP Reimbursement 
     Protection Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR STATES INCARCERATING UNDOCUMENTED 
                   ALIENS CHARGED WITH CERTAIN CRIMES.

       Section 241(i)(3)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)(3)(A)) is amended by inserting ``charged 
     with or'' before ``convicted''.
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