President Obama’s proposed budget for 2017 halts reimbursement to state and county jails for housing, feeding, and providing the medical and mental health needs of criminal illegal aliens.
The White House is moving to eliminate the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAPP), as reported by The Washington Post. While it would save the U.S. Department of Justice a reported $210 million, any costs of housing these illegal immigrants would be passed on to local and county taxpayers.
President Obama said his budget “is about looking forward,” reported the New York Times.
In response to the President’s proposal, Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted, “This must be stopped: Obama’s budget stops paying prisons for holding illegal immigrants convicted of crimes.”
Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman told Breitbart Texas that the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) receives $1 million in reimbursements for the care, and medical and mental health costs of criminal illegal aliens in the county. He said while the federal government has reduced the burden on Harris County taxpayers in the past, this only partially reimburses for the costs the county incurs.
Harris County, Texas, is comprised of the Houston and surrounding areas and the HCSO is the third largest sheriff’s office in the nation. Sheriff Hickman said by default, county taxpayers would bear the financial responsibility. Hickman said the “federal government should pay.” The Harris County sheriff said he is working with local area congressmen to address the issue.
“This money is vital for handling the criminal aliens that are in our jails,” Jackson County Sheriff AJ (Andy) Louderback said in an interview with Breitbart Texas. He said the reimbursement costs have already been reduced. “This is our one, if not our only, source of revenue that deals with reimbursement to county jails,” the sheriff explained. Louderback is serving as the legislative director for the Sheriff’s Association of Texas.
“President Obama continues to do everything he can to gut the criminal alien system in the U.S., proving once again that the safety of U.S. citizens is not important,” Sheriff Louderback added.
Dan Golvach, whose son was executed by an illegal alien while sitting in his car waiting for a light to change told Breitbart Texas, “This is just another way for Obama to create chaos. When you create chaos, then you create big government solutions. His fundamental change for America shows that he is for everyone but us. He is out to destroy this country as we know it.”
The 182-page budget is not likely to pass in the Republican-majority Congress. Breitbart News reported that the president’s budget would increase taxes by $2.6 trillion in ten years. As reported, this is nearly double the $1.4 trillion in new taxes the president tried to get in his previous budget proposal.
The Breitbart News article highlights the spending priorities of the Obama Administration, including his proposal to spend $300 billion over a decade for green vehicles and transportation initiatives.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, Texans responded passionately to the president’s proposal to increase revenues through a $10-a-barrel fee on crude oil. Moreover, in a statement obtained from the Republican National Committee, the RNC was on record saying, “The president’s proposed tax hike on oil isn’t just a middle-class tax increase, it’s a poor-tax, a family-tax, and a quality-of-life tax that goes directly after all Americans who are finally seeing relief at the pump and in their heating bills.”
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2
This article has been updated with additional information.
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