[House Report 110-618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-618
======================================================================
ASSISTANCE FOR STATES INCARCERATING UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS CHARGED WITH
CERTAIN CRIMES
_______
May 5, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Conyers, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1512]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 1512) 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, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as
amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
The Amendment.................................................... 1
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 4
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
The Amendment
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. 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''.
SEC. 2. GAO STUDY AND REPORT.
The Comptroller General of the United States annually shall submit to
the Congress and the Secretary of Homeland Security a report
specifying--
(1) the number of aliens detained by a State, or a political
subdivision of a State, because the alien has been charged with
an offense, or offenses, described in section 241(i)(3)(A) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)(3)(A)),
as amended by section 1 of this Act; and
(2) the costs associated with incarcerating such aliens.
Purpose and Summary
The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) was
originally created to provide financial assistance to States
and localities for costs they incur as a result of
incarcerating criminal aliens. Currently States and localities
are only reimbursed for a portion of these expenditures. H.R.
1512 amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to reflect the
original intent of Congress, which is to provide financial
assistance to States and localities for costs they incur as a
result of incarcerating aliens who are either charged with or
convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors.
Background and Need for the Legislation
SCAAP was created in 1994 to reimburse States and
localities for the arrest, incarceration, and transportation
costs associated with criminal aliens. The SCAAP program is
administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), which
is part of DOJ's Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The
Department of Homeland Security aids BJA in administering the
program by verifying the immigration status (or lack of status)
of those for whom States seek reimbursement.
Currently States and localities are only reimbursed for
incarcerating criminal aliens who are ``convicted of a felony
or two or more misdemeanors'' and incarcerated for at least
four consecutive days. In 2003, the Department of Justice (DOJ)
reinterpreted the statute establishing SCAAP in a way that
caused a drastic reduction in the amount of reimbursements
received under the Program. Under this reinterpretation,
reimbursement is made only if: (1) the criminal alien is
convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors; and (2) the arrest
and conviction occurred in the same fiscal year.
H.R. 1512 restores SCAAP as it was originally intended to
be, by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit
States and localities to be reimbursed for the costs of
incarcerating aliens who are either ``charged with or
convicted'' of a felony or two misdemeanors, regardless of the
fiscal year of the incarceration and conviction.
This bill has been introduced in every Congress since the
108th with bipartisan support.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
1512.
Committee Consideration
On September 25, 2007, the Subcommittee on Immigration,
Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
met in open session and ordered the bill, H.R. 1512, favorably
reported, without amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being
present. On October 24, 2007, the Committee met in open session
and ordered the bill, H.R. 1512, favorably reported with an
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 1512.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 1512, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, December 7, 2007.
Hon. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1512, 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.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Peter R. Orszag,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1512--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.
H.R. 1512 would direct the Government Accountability Office
to prepare a report each year on the costs to States and
localities to incarcerate undocumented aliens charged with
certain offenses. CBO estimates that the report would cost less
than $1 million annually from appropriated funds. Enacting the
bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. H.R. 1512
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no
costs on State, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 1512 also would modify the State Criminal Alien
Assistance Program (SCAAP), a grant program administered by the
Department of Justice (DOJ). Under SCAAP, DOJ may reimburse
States and localities for costs to incarcerate undocumented
aliens who have been convicted of certain crimes. H.R. 1512
would allow jurisdictions to apply for reimbursement when such
aliens have been charged with those offenses.
Current law authorizes the appropriation of $950 million
annually over the 2008-2011 period for SCAAP. For fiscal year
2007, the authorization level for the program was $850 million,
and the Congress appropriated about $400 million. In 2007,
however, States and localities applied to SCAAP for
reimbursements totaling over $950 million.
Because H.R. 1512 would not change the current
authorization levels for SCAAP and would not affect DOJ's
current reimbursement policy, CBO estimates that the proposed
changes to that program would have no cost to the Federal
Government. Implementing this legislation probably would
increase total applications for reimbursement under the
program. DOJ's current policy, however, is to approve
reimbursements to States for the costs of persons who have been
incarcerated for at least four consecutive days. We expect that
few individuals who have not been convicted of crimes would be
held for that long.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
1512 will reconfirm the original congressional intent that each
eligible State that applies for reimbursement under the State
Criminal Alien Assistance Program be expeditiously compensated
for the costs of incarcerating undocumented aliens charged with
or convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds authority for
this legislation in article I, section 8, clause 4 of the
Constitution.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 1512 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Assistance for States Incarcerating Undocumented
Aliens Charged with Certain Crimes. Section 1 amends the
Immigration and Nationality Act to reflect the original intent
of Congress, which is that funding be made available to States
and localities for the purpose of reimbursing them for their
cost of incarcerating aliens who are charged with or convicted
of a felony or two misdemeanors.
Sec. 2. GAO Study and Report. Section 2 requires the
Comptroller General of the United States to submit to the
Congress a report specifying the number of aliens detained by a
State or a political subdivision of a State because that alien
was charged with an offense described in section 241(i)(3)(A)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the costs associated
with incarcerating such aliens.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 241 OF THE IMMIGRATION AND
NATIONALITY ACT
DETENTION AND REMOVAL OF ALIENS ORDERED REMOVED
Sec. 241. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(i) Incarceration.--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term
``undocumented criminal alien'' means an alien who--
(A) has been charged with or convicted of a felony or
two or more misdemeanors; and
* * * * * * *