Pres. Obama issued the final budget proposal of his tenure, making one last push for passage of “comprehensive immigration reform.” The President’s proposed budget would also end the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that reimburses state and local prisons for housing criminal illegal aliens. It’s unlikely that Congress will even vote on the proposal.
According to the White House’s website, “[t]he Budget reflects the President’s support for commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform along the lines of the 2013 bipartisan Senate-passed bill.” The 2013 Schumer-Rubio amnesty bill would have granted work permits and legal status to 11 million illegal aliens and doubled legal immigration.
SCAAP gives federal money to states and localities that house illegal aliens with at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for at least four consecutive days. “You could say if you don’t start offsetting the costs, some of these local jails might start releasing more people,” said Jessica Vaughan, the Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies.
During the 2015 fiscal year California received more than $44.1 million in SCAAP funding, Florida received more than $6.7 million, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice received more than $8.2 million.
Pres. Obama’s budget would also set aside money for 2,070 additional Customs and Border Patrol agents and fund the Administration’s Priority Enforcement Program that focuses on the deportation of violent criminals.
