74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
 LC 3851
 
                           A-Engrossed
 
                     House Joint Memorial 24
                   Ordered by the House May 31
             Including House Amendments dated May 31
 
Sponsored by Representative C EDWARDS; Representatives BEYER,
  BOONE, CLEM, COWAN, D EDWARDS, GALIZIO, HUNT, KOMP, RILEY,
  ROBLAN, SCHAUFLER, WITT
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
 
  Urges Congress to institute comprehensive immigration reform,
secure borders of United States of America and reimburse Oregon
taxpayers for cost of incarcerating criminal aliens.
 
                         JOINT MEMORIAL
To the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United
  States of America, in Congress assembled:
  We, your memorialists, the Seventy-fourth Legislative Assembly
of the State of Oregon, in legislative session assembled,
respectfully represent as follows:
  Whereas the United States of America was founded by immigrants
who traveled from around the world to seek a better life; and
  Whereas modernizing our antiquated and dysfunctional
immigration system will uphold our nation's basic values of
fairness, equal opportunity and respect for the law; and
  Whereas our current immigration system fails to provide the
clear and fair paths to legal residency or citizenship that would
benefit the growth of our nation while also securing our nation's
borders; and
  Whereas the current, ineffective immigration system contributes
to labor abuses, deaths on the border and vigilante violence and
is in dire need of reform to meet the challenges of the 21st
century; and
  Whereas illegal immigration grew 23 percent over the past four
years, and this increase came despite the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security and increased funding for border
control; and
  Whereas undocumented immigrants in the United States now total
12 million and account for one in every 20 workers, including
one-quarter of agricultural workers; and
  Whereas the federal government's unwillingness to stem the tide
of illegal immigration has created billions of dollars in costs
to state and local governments; and
  Whereas if the federal government continues to abdicate its
responsibility to develop a comprehensive immigration policy, it
should reimburse the states for costs associated with those
failures, and otherwise, the federal government is forcing the
states to pay for the federal government's failures; and
  Whereas the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) is
a tool designed by the federal government to reimburse states for
their costs of incarcerating unauthorized immigrants who have
violated state law; and
  Whereas in recent years, Oregon has received dramatically less
from SCAAP than the state's actual expenses for securing criminal
aliens; and
  Whereas the 2006 SCAAP award from the federal government
reimbursed Oregon $4,474,724, which represents only 14 percent of
actual costs incurred, leaving an unpaid balance of $26,933,274;
and
  Whereas the federal government should adopt policies to work
closely with the states to provide immediate resources required
to offset the enormous costs imposed upon the states as a result
of the failure to control illegal entries along our international
borders; and
  Whereas full funding of the true costs must also be made
readily available to reimburse states for verified expenditures
incurred in the apprehension, detention and emergency care of
undocumented immigrants and for local costs such as medical
transport; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
  Oregon:
  (1) We, the members of the Seventy-fourth Legislative Assembly,
on behalf of the citizens of Oregon, respectfully urge the
Congress of the United States to secure our nation's borders and
to address comprehensive immigration reform in order to provide
states with an adequate workforce, address the escalating costs
to states of illegal immigration and help states recoup moneys
already spent on such escalating costs.
  (2) We respectfully request that the Congress of the United
States authorize and appropriate funding to fully reimburse
Oregon taxpayers for the cost of incarcerating criminal aliens.
  (3) A copy of this memorial shall be sent to the Senate
Majority Leader, to the Speaker and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and to each member of the Oregon Congressional
Delegation.
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