9 govs seek fed aid on alien criminals

PHOENIX — Governors of Arizona and eight other states are hoping to persuade President Bush to do something he hasn't done for years: seek funds to help states pay for locking up criminals who shouldn't be in this country in the first place.

In a letter to Bush, Gov. Janet Napolitano and her colleagues said the real solution to the problem of "criminal aliens" is for the federal government to secure the border. That would cut down on the number of people entering the country illegally, including those who commit crimes once they are here.

The governors said they are locking up more criminals here illegally because of the failure to secure the border.

"However, until the federal government can achieve its goal of restoring safety and security throughout our border regions, every effort should be made to compensate the state and local governments who have stepped up to fill this gap by policing the regions and incarcerating criminal aliens at their own expense," the governors wrote.

But the governors, being led by Napolitano and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, may have better luck petitioning Congress. The budget Bush has presented to Congress for the last several years included no funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.

A spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget said the administration wants to end the program. Andrea Wuebker said there is no evidence the program reduces crime.

She said the administration instead wants to reallocate any funds to other priorities, including counterterrorism and enforcement of immigration laws.

So far, the Republican-controlled Congress has refused to go along. In fact, lobbied by governors in prior years, the federal lawmakers, led in part by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have authorized $950 million for the program — though for the budget year that just ended they appropriated only about $400 million.

That has not been enough.

Napolitano press aide Jeanine L'Ecuyer said the state was entitled to $77.8 million for housing criminal aliens in 2004, money that is supposed to be reimbursed this year. But she said the actual allocation is only $12.1 million. She said that's why the governors want Bush to include the full $950 million in his spending request.

Arizona hasn't ignored the shortage. Napolitano has sent invoices to the Department of Justice for the difference. That accumulated total is now $279.4 million.