2007
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      HOUSE RESOLUTION 07-1008
      
      BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) McFadyen,  Weissmann, Benefield, Borodkin,
      Buescher, Butcher, Cadman, Carroll M., Casso, Cerbo, Curry, Fischer,
      Gagliardi, Gallegos, Garcia, Gardner B., Gardner C., Gibbs, Green, Hicks,
      Hodge, Jahn, Judd, Kefalas, Kerr J., King, Labuda, Lambert, Levy, Looper,
      Lundberg, Marostica, Marshall, Massey, May M., McGihon, McKinley,
      McNulty, Merrifield, Mitchell V., Peniston, Pommer, Primavera, Rice,
      Riesberg, Roberts, Romanoff, Rose, Solano, Sonnenberg, Soper, Stafford,
      Stephens, Summers, Swalm, Todd, Vaad, White, and Witwer.
      
      CONCERNING FEDERAL REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS
          ASSOCIATED WITH INCARCERATION OF UNDOCUMENTED
          FOREIGN NATIONALS IN COLORADO. 
      
          WHEREAS, Establishing immigration policy and controlling the
      nation's borders are clear, fundamental responsibilities of the federal
      government; and
      
          WHEREAS, The federal government has failed to discharge its
      fundamental responsibilities, and, as a consequence, high-impact states like
      Colorado face extraordinary costs associated with incarcerating
      undocumented foreign nationals; and 
      
          WHEREAS, The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program ("SCAAP"),
      governed by the federal "Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990", 8
      U.S.C. sec. 1231 (i), requires the federal government to reimburse the state
      of Colorado and local governments for costs associated with incarcerating
      undocumented foreign nationals; and 
      
          WHEREAS, SCAAP provides federal payments to states and localities
      that incur costs for incarcerating criminals who were born outside the
      United States or one of its territories and have no reported or documented 
      
      
      
      
      
      claim to United States citizenship; have at least one felony or two
      misdemeanor convictions for violations of state or local law; and are
      incarcerated for at least four consecutive days during the reporting period;
      and
      
          WHEREAS, The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the United States
      Department of Justice administers SCAAP, in conjunction with the Bureau
      of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States Department
      of Homeland Security; and 
      
          WHEREAS, The average annual cost of incarcerating an inmate in a
      Colorado state prison is now $27,587, according to statistics from the
      Colorado Department of Corrections; and
      
          WHEREAS, More than 1,560 legal and illegal foreign-born inmates
      were incarcerated in Colorado facilities during the last fiscal year, resulting
      in a total cost of incarceration for legal and illegal foreign-born inmates of
      more than $43,000,000; and
      
          WHEREAS, Approximately 1,000 persons were incarcerated with
      detainers from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
      yielding a total cost of incarceration for those inmates of approximately
      $27,560,000; and
      
          WHEREAS, For fiscal year 2005, the most recent reporting period by
      the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the state of Colorado received
      approximately $2,350,000 from reimbursement applications for some 1,720
      qualified and suspected inmates, a return of approximately $1,370 per
      inmate; and
      
          WHEREAS, Much of the cost associated with incarceration is borne by
      counties, most of which traditionally operate with slim budgets and staffing;
      and 
      
          WHEREAS, Over the previous three-year period, the Bureau of Justice
      Assistance has failed to reimburse the state of Colorado, its counties, and
      its cities an estimated $119,580,000 for costs associated with the
      incarceration of undocumented foreign nationals; and 
      
          
          WHEREAS, During the 2005 legislative session, the Colorado General
      Assembly enacted section 17-1-107.5, Colorado Revised Statutes, requiring
      the governor to submit to the United States attorney general information
      concerning the costs of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens as an
      attempt to prompt the federal government to provide appropriate assistance
      to the state to reimburse for these costs; and
      
          WHEREAS, The federal government has not met its national
      immigration policy obligations or adequately compensated the state of
      Colorado or its local governments for the costs associated with the
      incarceration of undocumented foreign nationals; now, therefore,
      
          Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-sixth
      General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
      
          That the Colorado House of Representatives hereby urges the Governor
      and the Attorney General of the state of Colorado to institute an action in
      federal district court to compel the Bureau of Justice Assistance to
      reimburse the state of Colorado and local governments for all costs
      associated with the incarceration of undocumented foreign nationals.
      
          Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to
      President George W. Bush, Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., the United States
      Attorney General, the Colorado Attorney General, each member of
      Colorado's Congressional delegation, the Majority Leader of the Senate of
      the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of
      Representatives, the Chairs of the Appropriations Committees for the
      United States Senate and the House of Representatives, the Chairs of the
      Homeland Security Committees for the United States Senate and the House
      of Representatives, the director of the Colorado Department of Corrections,
      and the President of the Colorado Sheriffs' Association.
      
      
      
      ________________________________________________________
      Marilyn Eddins                        Andrew Romanoff
      CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE         SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
      OF REPRESENTATIVES                 OF REPRESENTATIVES