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Officials: Cost of illegal immigration 'immense' - San Diego County
North County Times ^ | 8/15/06 | Edward Sifuentes

Posted on 08/15/2006 10:19:20 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

SAN DIEGO ---- County officials testified during a congressional hearing Monday in San Diego that illegal immigrants extract a heavy toll on local governments and law enforcement agencies, especially in North County. But they said they did not know precisely how much.

Officials said illegal immigrants have strained local education, health care and prison resources. Many of the panelists blamed the federal government for failing to secure the nation's borders.

"San Diego County may be the gateway to Mexico, but my taxpayers in the County of San Diego are the doormat," said Supervisor Bill Horn, whose district includes most of North County.

The panel is part of a series of Republican-organized hearings held around the country on immigration reform. It was the fourth held in San Diego County since July 5, as Congress considers opposing immigration reform bills passed by the House and Senate.

Only U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, which sponsored the hearing and U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, participated in the hearing. Previous panels in San Diego have attracted a dozen or more representatives, including most of the county's Republican delegation.

Immigration advocates held a separate press conference in downtown San Diego in response to the hearings, saying the benefits of immigration outweigh the costs.

During the packed congressional hearing in county supervisors' chambers, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender said illegal immigrants account for many of the calls law enforcement agencies receive in North County.

He said:

n Nearly 80 percent of gang-related crimes in North County involve illegal immigrants, either as suspects or victims.

n Day laborers and their migrant encampments are a burden on law enforcement. Residents call deputies about day laborers' aggressive work solicitation, drinking in public and using parking lots as restrooms.

n A recent operation in North County resulted in the towing of more than 100 vehicles due to traffic violations. The majority of the drivers were believed by deputies to be illegal immigrants.

n Protests supporting and opposing illegal immigration cost the Sheriff's Department $489,000 in 2005.

"The cost of staff hours, equipment and administrative work associated with the detention and/or arrest of undocumented, foreign-born citizens is difficult to approximate, but the figures are in the millions," Kolender said.

Horn told the congressional panel that the county Board of Supervisors commissioned a study to estimate the cost of illegal immigration on the county's coffers. His office later clarified that the board has not commissioned such a study but has authorized county staffers to investigate the cost of such an investigation.

"While current law and circumstance make it very difficult to accurately quantify the impact of the problem, it is immense," Horn said at the hearing.

Outside the administration building, several dozen immigrant rights advocates and anti-illegal immigration activists engaged in shouting matches. Immigrant rights activist Enrique Morones and members of his group, the Border Angels, laid small wooden crosses on the grass as symbols of the thousands of illegal immigrants who have died attempting to cross the border illegally.

Anti-illegal immigration activists carried large flags and picket signs that read, "Hire Americans," and "Say no to Chicano racism."

The atmosphere outside was contentious at times, but the number of protesters was much smaller than the crowd of hundreds that attended the first hearing July 5 at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol station.

The number of congressional representatives who sat on the panel also was smaller.

As in previous meetings, Latino rights advocates criticized the panel as a political show aimed at fanning anti-immigrant fervor. Christian Ramirez, a prominent advocate with the human rights group, American Friends Service Committee, said he attended the hearing to watch "the show," but did not participate in the rallies outside.

Members of anti-illegal immigration groups, such as the Vista Citizens Brigade and the San Diego Minutemen, who attended the event said the hearings bring needed attention to the cost of illegal immigration on tax payers. However, one said it's time to stop talking and do something.

"I think it's getting repetitive," said Minuteman Neil Turned of Carlsbad. "I have enough (information) going to four of them. I'm sure something new comes out each time, but its time to get something done."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: aliens; bushamnesty; california; illegal; illegalaliens; illegals; immense; immigration; invasionusa; officials; sandiego; spendingspree
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Bill Wechter/ Staff Photographer

Following the hearing at the San Diego County Administration Building on Monday migrants' rights advocate Felix Garcia, of San Diego, holds a sign that basically says in Spanish "no minutemen" as Ken Lester, of San Diego, and Chuck Maier, of Valley Center, hold American flags and express their views to stop illegal immigration.


1 posted on 08/15/2006 10:19:23 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

bump


2 posted on 08/15/2006 10:20:06 AM PDT by VOA
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To: NormsRevenge

Come On! GW has told us that they all are here for a job. (and Islam is a religion of peace)


3 posted on 08/15/2006 10:26:56 AM PDT by Digger
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To: Digger

Yep just pay up and shut up, non enforcement of law has consequences.


4 posted on 08/15/2006 10:34:39 AM PDT by boomop1 (there you go again)
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To: NormsRevenge
Officials said illegal immigrants have strained local education

Our family has dealt with this personally here in the Denver Colorado area. One school is 80% Hispanic--all of them in North Aurora are majority Hispanic. Because they have no room for our son (even though there is supposedly open enrollment) and other problems we have had with the public school system, we have been forced to deplete our savings and send him to a private school. The schools in our area are bursting at the seams even though they have reopened an elementary school that hasn't been an elementary school for probably 30 years or more and done extensive remodeling on other schools. It's a terrible situation if you are an American child.

5 posted on 08/15/2006 10:35:01 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: NormsRevenge
Immigration advocates held a separate press conference in downtown San Diego in response to the hearings, saying the benefits of immigration outweigh the costs.

Right! Their benefits and my costs!

6 posted on 08/15/2006 10:35:23 AM PDT by navyblue (Semper ubi sub ubi)
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To: NormsRevenge

"American Friends Service Committee"

One of the origional communist front organizations.


7 posted on 08/15/2006 10:40:58 AM PDT by dalereed
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To: boomop1
Yep just pay up and shut up

That's exactly the attitude. Americans are supposed to shut up and take it.

8 posted on 08/15/2006 10:47:31 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: dalereed

Founded 1917 , American Friends Service Committee
http://www.afsc.org/about/history.htm
Quaker values in action


The American Friends Service Committee was founded in 1917 to provide young Quakers and other conscientious objectors an opportunity to serve those in need instead of fighting during World War I.


9 posted on 08/15/2006 10:55:05 AM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ......Help the "Pendleton 8' and families -- http://www.freerepublic.com/~normsrevenge/)
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To: NormsRevenge
There are already plenty of laws on the books that could shut this down pronto.

Apparently, somewhere along the line, the decision was made to NOT ENFORCE these laws.

My questions to you:
1. When was this decision made?
2. Who made the decision?

With the exception of:
a. Employers being able to verify legality
b. Some sort of National ID

we don't need new laws.

10 posted on 08/15/2006 10:56:01 AM PDT by upchuck (Rooooooooters ~ Giving smoke and mirrors a bad name since 1937.)
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To: NormsRevenge

The commies as much as took it over in the 50s.


11 posted on 08/15/2006 11:03:01 AM PDT by dalereed
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To: NormsRevenge
A recent operation in North County resulted in the towing of more than 100 vehicles due to traffic violations. The majority of the drivers were believed by deputies to be illegal immigrants.

Fear not. The California state legislature will soon be passing a bill to exempt illegal aliens from this heinous injustice. Wonder if Arnold will sign it?

Bill Would Give Illegals Another Legal Detour
Whittier Daily News
August 14, 2006

THE state Senate already has voted 25 to 14 to create a special exemption in state law that would reduce the mandatory 30-day impoundment of cars driven by unlicensed drivers, so that offenders who have never had a valid license can get their cars back after 24 hours.

Right now, when officers impound the cars of unlicensed drivers, the mandatory term is 30 days. A new law would keep the 30 days for drivers whose bad driving led to the forfeiture or suspension of their license - may the courts add whatever punishment they so choose - but create a loophole to give unlicensed illegal immigrants their cars back overnight. Expect the California Assembly to approve SB626 as early as today.

snip

12 posted on 08/15/2006 11:14:44 AM PDT by DumpsterDiver
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To: gubamyster

ping


13 posted on 08/15/2006 11:15:16 AM PDT by DumpsterDiver
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To: DumpsterDiver

I'm not much into betting Thank you. ;-)


14 posted on 08/15/2006 11:16:39 AM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ......Help the "Pendleton 8' and families -- http://www.freerepublic.com/~normsrevenge/)
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To: beaversmom
And the rest of my comment u omitted, no one has the guts to cut aid, it will never be fixed especially when in California 1/4 are illegal.
15 posted on 08/15/2006 11:32:38 AM PDT by boomop1 (there you go again)
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To: beaversmom

I wouldn't want my kids to go to an 80% Hispanic school and Im Hispanic(easier than typing American of Mexican Descent). I live in unicorporated Aurora so dont have to deal with Aurora Public School System.


16 posted on 08/15/2006 11:48:08 AM PDT by art_rocks
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To: NormsRevenge
Immigration advocates...saying the benefits of immigration outweigh the costs.

Of course they do, to the illegal aliens and those who hire them, because the costs are paid by taxpayers and crime victims. When all the costs are added up, they far exceed to benefits (to America).

17 posted on 08/15/2006 11:55:47 AM PDT by 3niner
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To: NormsRevenge
I don't understand why everyone acts as though this is just a recent occurrence. It's not! It's been this same way for at least 20 years that I know of when we were forced to find a private school for our kids to go to because of the Mexican takeover of schools, hospitals, jobs etc. then. We had no choice but to grit our teeth and bear it and pay the price. Just like now, if we spoke out against it, no-one listened.

To blame this and the border problem on GWB and admin or Arnie is ridiculous, all they did was inherit the problem. As much as I'd like to see a solution and everything come about as we'd like it to, I look at it as a problem that has gone too far for that to come about, the world has changed so much and unfortunately I think the best we can hope for is a slow down to the disaster and we're stuck with what we've now got. We can't turn back the clock.

18 posted on 08/15/2006 12:04:05 PM PDT by AmeriBrit (Spreading the truth - Doing the job the MSM won't do!)
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To: NormsRevenge

My mailbox is being flooded with mail concerning gas prices and illegal immigrants.

To boycott oil companies or not; to provide amnesty to illegal immigrants or not, etc.

Since I have become jaded to the various solutions proposed by the Republicans, Democrats, Sierra Club, ACLU, etc. I have elected to solve the problems as they affect me. It solves both my gas and illegal immigrant problems.

I have hired illegal immigrants to push my car. They're plentiful and cheaper than buying gas. Then I pay them in pesos so they have to go home to spend it.

I love it when a plan comes together


19 posted on 08/15/2006 12:14:54 PM PDT by sure_fine (*not one to over kill the thought process*)
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To: NormsRevenge
...but the number of protesters was much smaller than the crowd of hundreds that attended the first hearing July 5 at the Imperial Beach Border Patrol station.

Let's not slack off, people! We can't let the OBL just hunker down and wait for America's outrage to blow over.

Keep your eyes on the prize!

20 posted on 08/15/2006 12:55:23 PM PDT by AppleButter
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