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Democrats Continue To Undermine Californians

"In a move this past week that could only be described as shortsighted, Assemblyman Josè Solorio, Chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, stated that the committee had rejected Assemblymember John Benoit's bill, AB 39, 'because in the past this type of proposal was unsuccessful in having the federal government reimburse for the cost of incarcerating undocumented immigrants.'  It is this type of shortsighted rejection that continues to have many of our working poor and middle class fighting for the scraps that the majority party decides to leave behind.

"Illegal immigrants currently comprise 11.8% of our inmate population, with an estimated annual cost of $35,000 per inmate.  'California spends approximately $850 million each year to incarcerate undocumented convicts, with only a fraction of those costs reimbursed by the federal government.'  'Governor Schwarzenegger called for major increases to the President's budget, which proposes to cut SCAAP funding by lowering reimbursement to California by $85.6 million in 2007-08 and eliminating SCAAP reimbursement entirely beginning in 2008-09.'

"How many after school programs could we create in some of neediest districts with an additional $700 million?  How many college education programs could it fund, enabling some of our working poor and middle class students to have an increased chance of success?  How many community-based clinics could this help open?  How many more scholarships could be awarded?  And how many startup businesses could this help get off the ground?

"Assemblyman Solorio's comments, suggesting that our state should not use all available legal resources to pressure the federal government to fulfill their obligations, are hypocritical at a time when the majority party seems content in having California's Attorney General seek 'damages resulting from, and related to, global warming in California' from the automotive industry.  Rather than explore practical solutions for retrieving funds from the federal government for the incarceration of illegal immigrants, Assemblyman Solorio has pronounced such efforts, once again, dead on arrival.

"For a member who highlights on his website that he is son of migrant farm workers, who labored along side his parents and set out to achieve the 'American Dream,' one would expect that Assemblyman Solorio would have learned that, "con esfuerzo y ganas todo es posible.'"

Hector M. Barajas, Communications Director, California Republican Party
 

AB 39 Was Rejected Because Similar Proposals Had Failed In The Past
"El asambleísta demócrata de Santa Ana, José Solorio, presidente del Comité de Seguridad Pública de la Asamblea, dijo que rechazaron la propuesta de Benoit porque en el pasado no ha tenido éxito al tratar de demandar al gobierno federal para que les reembolse el costo de encarcelar a los inmigrantes indocumentados." (Araceli Martinez-Ortega, "Rechazo A Plan De Reembolso Por Indocumentado Presos, La Opinion, 4/12/07)

Sen. Feinstein: California "Has The Largest Criminal Alien Population In the Country"
California has an estimated 2.5 million undocumented people living in the state.  California also has the largest criminal alien population in the country and so California bears the brunt of housing these criminal aliens.  The percentage of deportable criminal aliens in California State prison system is 11.8 percent of the total inmate population of approximately 172,000.  The cost to house an inmate in California State prison system is $35,212 per year.  It costs California over $715 million per year to house approximately 20,296 deportable criminal aliens." (US Senator Dianne Feinstein, "Senate Approves Feinstein-Kyl Budget Amendment To Fully Fund Program Used To Reimburse States For Criminal Illegal Immigrants Costs," Press Release- 3/23/07, Accessed: 4/16/07)

Average Prisoner Costs California: $35,000 - $70,000
"The state isn't sure exactly how much it spends overall on housing and caring for the oldest prisoners.  But state officials estimate that the average prisoner costs California about $35,000 a year and that elderly inmates, who require more care, cost an average of $70,000." (Scott Smith, "California's Prisoners Are Aging And Taxpayers Are Paying For Their Medical Care," Stockton Record, 1/29/07)

"$850 Million Each Year To Incarcerate Undocumented Convicts"
To pay for incarcerating undocumented prisoners in state prisons, Governor Schwarzenegger called for major increases to the President's budget, which proposes to cut SCAAP funding by lowering reimbursement to California by $85.6 million in 2007-08 and eliminating SCAAP reimbursement entirely beginning in 2008-09.  The cuts will result in a $114.1 million loss to the state General Fund and a reduction of nearly $56 million to local California governments.  California spends approximately $850 million each year to incarcerate undocumented convicts, with only a fraction of those costs reimbursed by the federal government." (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Gov. Schwarzenegger Lobbies For California's Fair Share Of Federal Funding," Press Release- 2/27/07, Accessed: 3/16/07)

Attorney General Continues Global Warming Suit Against Auto Industry
"People of the State of California, ex rel. Edmund G. Brown Jr., Attorney General ('California'), seek recovery of damages resulting from, and related to, global warming in California caused in significant part by defendants' greenhouse gas emissions.  As California has alleged in its complaint, the transportation sector accounts for approximately thirty percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, and the six defendants in this case account for the vast majority of those emissions."  (People Of The State Of California, et rel. Edmund G. Brown Jr., Attorney General v. General Motors, Toyota Motor North America, INC., Ford Motor Company, Honda North America, INC., Chrysler Motors Corporation, Nissan North America, INC. Case No. 3:06-cv-05755 MJJ, "California's Memorandum Of Law In Opposition To Defendants' Motion To Dismiss," Accessed: 4/16/07)

Assemblymember Solorio: Setting To Achieve The American Dream
"The son of migrant farm workers, Solorio has gone from laboring as a teenager in the fields alongside his parents, to earning a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University, to serving as a Santa Ana City Councilman, to now serving as the youngest Democrat in the California State Assembly.  As a teenager set on achieving the American Dream and improving his family's standard of living, Solorio saw education as the key to his future." (Josè Solorio, "Biography," Assembly Web Page, Accessed: 4/16/07)

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