5.                  Legislative Update

Two new bipartisan bills which concern incarceration of undocumented immigrants will make the rounds in Congress this week, The Washington Post reports.  The bills, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kay Hutchison (R-TX), intends to expand the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP).  SCAAP reimburses states and counties for the unfounded mandate of detaining undocumented immigrants arrested in connection with crimes other than immigration violations.  The proposed bills, jointly called the SCAAP Reimbursement Protection Act of 2008, would extend reimbursement to states and localities for incarcerating undocumented immigrants if they have been charged with one felony or two misdemeanors. 

The bill aims to encourage timely reimbursement from the Justice Department to state and local governments; the legislation would require payment within 120 days of the application deadline.  The bill also clarifies the language of the existing SCAAP statute; under the existing wording, the Justice Department only reimburses states and counties for the costs of housing convicted criminal immigrants.  It does not reimburse states for housing undocumented immigrants who have been charged with a crime.

“Border law enforcement officials and Texas taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for a job the federal government is failing to do,” said Sen. Cornyn, co-sponsor and member of the Immigration and Border Security subcommittee.  “This legislation will expedite the reimbursement process and expand the types of services eligible for reimbursement.  It will help eliminate this unfounded mandate and make our communities safer.”

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The Virginia House passed a bill that prohibits undocumented immigrants from attending public colleges and universities, The Associated Press reports.  The bill passed 73-26 and now heads to the Democrat-controlled Senate.  Supporters of the bill said undocumented immigrants should not be allowed to attend a higher education institution supported by tax dollars.  While not all of Virginia ’s 15 public universities and 23 community colleges check students’ legal status, they all charge those known to be undocumented out-of-state tuition.

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In an effort to revitalize the state’s stagnant farming industry, Colorado ’s House will examine a proposed bill that seeks to open an immigration office in Mexico with the intent to bring more seasonal foreign workers to the state.  Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, says farms throughout the state and country are suffering because they can’t get the guest workers needed to harvest labor-intensive crops.  Looper argues that the federal H-2A visa program is too slow and produces only about 35,000 employees annually rather than the 700,000 needed nationwide.

The proposition for a regional office stems from what Looper calls “a big black hole;”  H-2A applications from around the country go through a single federal office in Chicago, and approvals come halfway through the growing season, when farmers are behind on their work.