By Gayle Kesselman at ADMC

Failure of the US government to deal with immigration is an unfunded mandate on southern border states. The massive influx of low-skilled workers costs those states significantly more than the productivity of the immigrants adds to their coffers.

A new study sponsored by the United States/Mexico Border Counties Coalition gives specific numbers for the criminal justice component of those expenses. The New York Times reports:

Border Counties Shortchanged in Immigrant Costs, Study Says
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

Counties along the Mexican border from California to Texas are shortchanged millions of dollars a year in costs related to prosecuting and jailing illegal immigrants, according to a study released Wednesday.

The study was by the University of Arizona and San Diego State University on behalf of the United States/Mexico Border Counties Coalition, a group representing the 24 border counties.

Cumulatively, the counties spent $1.23 billion from 1999 to 2006 to process illegal immigrants in the justice system, the study found. Federal programs offset only a fraction of those costs, and often did not receive the maximum level of financing that they are authorized to receive, the study said.

“This is a huge problem because we can’t keep up with fixing roads, the others costs of law enforcement, keeping up health agencies,” said Paul Newman, a member of the board of supervisors in Cochise County, Ariz., a hot spot for illegal border crossings. “It is a big hit on counties that per capita are unable to meet other needs.”

The border counties coalition has long complained that the federal government does not adequately finance the costs of illegal immigration borne by local governments. The group commissioned the study, a follow-up to reports started in 1999, to document the extent of the problem.

Some of the biggest costs absorbed by the counties are in the criminal justice system, the study found. The cost of arresting, incarcerating and housing illegal immigrant criminal suspects had more than doubled since 1999, to $192 million in the 2006 fiscal year, the report said….

Note that this discussion only reflects the burden on counties. The expenses borne by municipalities and other jurisdictions, also very large, are not included.

For a very credible and comprehensive breakdown by county and by every affected department with each county, read Undocumented Immigrants in U.S. - Mexico Border Counties: The costs of law enforcement and criminal justice services (10.29MB, PDF).

The study researched the law enforcement and criminal justice agencies in all 24 border counties, beginning with San Diego County, California and concluding with Cameron County, Texas. Workload and fiscal data were compiled for one fiscal year—2006—on expenditures from the county general fund…. Hundreds of county officials, both elected and appointed, were interviewed. Documents researched included county budgets, court records, federal statistics, crime statistics, SCAAP applications, relevant research, and newspaper accounts. Preliminary drafts were presented to all county governing bodies for review in July and August. Findings are limited to the 24 border counties only. Impacts of undocumented immigration on municipalities, states, Indian tribes, and counties further north are not included in this scope of work.