What are the costs and benefits of illegal immigrants in the U.S.?

It's hard to say. Most Idaho agencies have no way of knowing how many they serve.
BY BETHANN STEWART
The Idaho Statesman
08/16/10

In the wake of an Arizona law allowing police to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally, lawmakers in many states, including Idaho, are looking more closely at illegal immigration - even with that Arizona law recently put on hold by a judge.

But quantifiable data is hard to find, and most of the numbers bandied about are based on research by advocacy groups on either side of the debate. That makes it difficult to know both the costs of illegal workers and the benefits of a low-cost, mobile work force.

A Statesman survey of several Treasure Valley institutions shows that many of them - hospitals, school districts, universities and state agencies - have no mechanism to track the costs and benefits of undocumented workers.

This is not an issue the Idaho controller's office has studied, but many of these costs are difficult to quantify, said Chief Deputy Dan Goicoechea.

Even knowing how many illegal immigrants live in Idaho is nearly impossible.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimated that in 2008 between 25,000 and 40,000 illegal immigrants lived in Idaho - among the lowest in the nation. But the key word is "estimated."

"I challenge anyone to give us the data on the undocumented. We just don't know," said Margie Gonzales, executive director of the Idaho Hispanic Commission.

Complicating the statistics is the Constitution, which grants citizenship to any child born in the United States, including the offspring of illegal immigrants.

Though public schools are often cited among the costs of illegal immigration, they are constitutionally bound to educate all students.

Since federal law prohibits public schools from asking students about their immigration status, legal and illegal immigrant students often are put into the same statistical category: English-language learners.

Federal law also requires hospitals to treat patients who come to emergency rooms, regardless of their ability to pay, so local officials say they don't have reliable numbers on the costs.

Sometimes those payments come from county indigent services offices, which pay medical bills of county residents who show they can't afford them. About $18 million to $20 million per year is spent statewide in indigent funds, with another about $26 million to $30 million from the state catastrophic funds, which help the counties cover the most expensive bills, said Dan Chadwick, executive director of the Idaho Association of Counties.

"The illegal immigrant portion of this, we don't know," he said.

A Senate bill passed in 2009 cleared the way for county offices to begin collecting data on immigration status, Chadwick said. But that will not affect the availability of funds, he said. Idaho law bases eligibility on a 30-day residency in the state, not on status.

"You're not entitled to services if you're not a resident of Idaho," Chadwick said. "I haven't seen it come into play for illegal immigrants."

Taxpayers also pay to send illegal immigrants home. A weekly, and sometimes twice-weekly, deportation flight leaves Twin Falls, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to give a specific number, said spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

"People might come from other cities, not just Twin Falls," she said. "It's one of those situations where it costs what it costs. I don't know if we can quantify the cost."

The issue isn't going away.

The Legislature's most outspoken critic of illegal immigration, GOP Sen. Mike Jorgensen of Hayden, was defeated in the primary, but others have vowed to take up the charge.

"If the feds won't do it, states are saying, 'We're going to have to do it,' " Idaho state Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, told the Associated Press recently.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/08/16/1304218/what-are-the-costs-benefits-of.html

Idaho lawmakers pursue illegal immigrant employers

By Simmi Aujla
Associated Press Writer
Salt Lake Tribune

BOISE, Idaho: Idaho lawmakers could debate as many as three bills this session that would punish employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Two bills, including one introduced Friday by Sen. Mike Jorgenson, would punish employers who knowingly hire illegal workers with fines and suspension of licenses. A third, milder measure makes knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant a misdemeanor but doesn't touch their licenses.

Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, has introduced similar versions of his legislation the last three sessions, but they failed. He insists tackling the issue will pay off by discouraging illegal workers so much that they stay away.

"It creates enforcement by attrition," Jorgenson told the Senate State Affairs Committee. "When people know we have this kind of structure in place, they leave the state or they don't come."

Jorgenson's measure would require employers after Jan. 1, 2011, to confirm a worker's eligibility through the federal "E-Verify" system. Violators would face fines of up to $50 a day per worker, up to $50,000. His bill goes even further: Written driver's license tests would be given in English only -- no interpreters allowed.

On Friday, the Senate panel agreed to consider his bill at a full hearing, along with others that might come across their desks. Still, some members were at least initially skeptical.

Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, raised concerns that Jorgenson's bill could burn up law enforcement agencies' resources. Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly, D-Boise, fears far-reaching consequences for legal immigrants who would face additional hurdles to mundane tasks like driving a car.

"We have huge concerns about this," Kelly said.

Separately, Reps. Phil Hart, R-Athol, and Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, are also working on legislation. Details weren't available and it hasn't been introduced, but Labrador said it would discourage employers from hiring illegal aliens, including by revoking an offending business's license for up to one year.

"People will be more careful when hiring," said Labrador, an immigration lawyer running for Congress.

A third alternative would tighten existing laws governing employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Owners of companies who knowingly do so could face misdemeanor charges, be fined up to $50,000 and be jailed for two years but wouldn't be stripped of licenses under the measure sponsored by Sens. John McGee, R-Caldwell, and Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, who chairs the State Affairs Committee.

A pro-business group that includes dairy and construction interests doesn't like any of the bills, but concedes McGee's bill would likely put the least burden on employers who often rely on immigrant laborers.

Revoking a business license would be bad for Idaho's already lagging recovery, said Brent Olmstead, a lobbyist for the Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform. Its members like the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry are pushing for comprehensive immigration reforms that include secure borders, but also increased quotas for guest workers.

Meanwhile, the Idaho Community Action Network, which represents migrant-worker interests, contends that only federal legislation can solve the problem. Leo Morales, a community organizer, said none of the Idaho measures address his group's concern that employers have inadequate training to determine just who has a fake ID or Social Security number.

"Employers are not immigration officials," Morales said.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14301498

ICE raids Ketchum coffee shop

Two workers arrested for deportation to Peru
Todd Rippo, The Idaho Mountain Express
May 27, 2009

A Ketchum coffee shop found itself short two workers last week after federal immigration officers took two of its bakers into custody for deportation to Peru.

"Both are Peruvian nationals and both are what we call immigration fugitives," said Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman in Seattle for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

An ICE Fugitive Operations Team made the arrests at Java on Fourth on Wednesday, May 20, around 2:30 p.m.

"It's kind of upsetting, just before Memorial Day weekend," Java owner Todd Rippo said Friday. "All I know is they took two of my bakers, people I've had for a decade.

"They had everything the law requires them to have and you show up at work and they're gone. I don't know why it would happen now and not nine years ago. They've worked at restaurants around the valley. It's not just me. I've employed their families for years."

Neither Rippo nor Dankers would release the women's names. One of them was known as Carmen.

Dankers said both women have been "immigration fugitives" since 2003, when they appeared before a federal judge and were ordered out of the United States.

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005126237

Idaho ICE raid protested

Idaho ICE raid protested
Submitted by WW4 Report
Monday, 12/29/2008

On Dec. 4, ICE agents raided Idaho Truss & Component Co., a wood framing company in Nampa, Idaho, just west of Boise, arresting 16 of the 22 workers present. The workers, all Mexican men, were expected to be placed into deportation proceedings for administrative immigration violations. ICE's investigation began with a tip from the public, said ICE spokesperson Lorie Dankers. ICE then initiated an investigation after reviewing the employment records of individuals who were helping build military housing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, about 50 miles south of Boise. Further investigation revealed that some of the workers may have secured employment using false Social Security numbers and other counterfeit identity documents. The company had been providing information to ICE for the past several weeks, said Idaho Truss President Kendall Hoyd. ICE was assisted in the investigation by the Metro Violent Crimes and Gang Task Force based in Nampa and the US Postal Inspection Service. (ICE news release, Dec. 4; Idaho Statesman, Dec. 5; Boise Weekly, Dec. 10)

On Dec. 7 about 80 people took part in a vigil at the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise to support the arrested workers and protest the raid. The vigil was organized by Idaho Community Action Network and Catholic Charities of Idaho. (AP, Dec. 8 with info from Idaho Press-Tribune; Boise Weekly, Dec. 10) On Dec. 8, a group of about 30 women from Mujeres Unidas de Idaho held a lunch meeting where they grilled two federal prosecutors and Don Buechner, the ICE agent in charge of Boise, about the raid. Buechner told the group that the investigation at Idaho Truss began with an encounter with two unauthorized laborers working at Mountain Home Air Force Base. ICE also received three letters from concerned citizens alleging that Idaho Truss was firing legal workers and hiring illegal workers. "Whether or not that's true or not, that sort of got us into investigating a little further," Buechner said. (Boise Weekly, Dec. 10)

On Dec. 9, a federal grand jury in Boise indicted all 16 of the arrested workers on federal charges including possession of counterfeit alien registration receipt cards, misuse of Social Security numbers, and illegal entry or re-entry after deportation. Twelve of the workers immediately pleaded guilty and were sentenced to time served and returned to ICE custody for removal from the US. Three workers are scheduled to go on trial on Feb. 10, 2009 for reentry after deportation. One worker has not yet entered a plea. (ICE news release, Dec. 12; AP, Dec. 12)

http://www.ww4report.com/node/6586

Feds: Men admit forging citizenship papers

Feds: Men admit forging citizenship papers
December 16, 2008
By PATRICK ORR
Boise Idaho Statesman

16 men were charged in a Dec. 4 raid at a Nampa-area business; the remaining 3 await a jury trial.

Thirteen of the 16 men arrested earlier this month for being in the U.S. illegally and working at a Nampa-area wood framing business have admitted to forging citizenship documents, federal officials say.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say all 16 men formerly employed by Idaho Truss are from Mexico. ICE has accused them with multiple federal crimes, including possession of counterfeit alien registration receipt cards, misuse of Social Security numbers, and illegal entry or re-entry after deportation.

The raid at Idaho Truss occurred Dec. 4, and all 16 men were taken into custody that day. They were later indicted by a federal grand jury. ICE officials say 13 of those men have already entered guilty pleas.

Idaho Truss & Component Co. President Kendall Hoyd said earlier this month he was shocked to learn that 16 of his employees were suspected of working illegally. The Idaho Community Action Network and Catholic Charities of Idaho have denounced the raid, saying it likely was tearing families apart.

According to ICE reports, the Dec. 4 raid was part of a yearlong investigation that began with a review of the employment records of workers building military housing at the Mountain Home Air Force Base.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/103/story/605278.html

Groups protest S. Idaho immigration raid

Groups protest S. Idaho immigration raid
December 08, 2008
The Olympian

The Idaho Community Action Network and Catholic Charities of Idaho held a candlelight vigil in protest of an immigration raid at a wood manufacturing company in Nampa.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 16 Mexican nationals employed by the Idaho Truss & Component Co. on Thursday. The raid was part of a one-year investigation that began when employment records showed some workers may have used fake documents to secure their jobs.

The workers will remain in federal custody until they appear before an immigration judge.

A group of about 80 people gathered in Boise on Sunday at the Anne Frank Memorial for a vigil in support of the workers and in protest of the arrests that separated the men from their families three weeks before the Christmas holiday.

The Rev. Thomas Faucher, of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Boise, and Amy Hertzfeld, executive director of the Idaho Human Rights Education Center, were among speakers at the event, which included family members of the workers.

Veronica Mason, 34, of Nampa, said her 36-year-old fiance was one of the men arrested during the raid. He was brought into the county as a minor and has lived in the United States for about 17 years, she said. Mason is expecting the couple's first child in June and if her fiance is deported, said she'll move to Mexico to keep the family together.

"It's been really hard for me to get to the concept that he won't be here for the birth of his only child," she told the Idaho Press-Tribune. "It's just really devastating for the whole family."

Idaho Truss President Kendall Hoyd said the 16 workers were carefully documented when they were hired and he was unaware the were suspected of working in the country illegally.

ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers confirmed that deportation proceedings for the workers have begun.

The names of those arrested will not be released, Dankers said. Three of the 16 men arrested have been previously deported, while three others have been convicted of crimes in the United States, according to ICE.

http://www.theolympian.com/130/story/691723.html

Nampa workplace raid in takes 16 into custody

Nampa workplace raid in takes 16 into custody
BY BETHANN STEWART AND PATRICK ORR
Idaho Statesman
12/05/08

Despite careful documentation by Idaho Truss, feds say the workers may have used fake IDs.

Idaho Truss & Component Co. President Kendall Hoyd said he was shocked to learn Thursday that 16 of his employees were suspected of working illegally.
"We carefully documented everyone when we hired them," Hoyd said. "We did all the reporting that is required by law."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained the 16 Mexican men after a raid at the Nampa-based wood framing company Thursday morning.

The Idaho Community Action Network denounced Thursday's raid.

"What a terrible time of year to be tearing families apart!" said Roxy Carr, ICAN leader from Twin Falls, in a statement. "I know we can do better than this. It's time our government got serious about fixing the system."

On Thursday, Catholic Charities of Idaho and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise issued a statement condemning recent immigration enforcement actions in Idaho and urging ICE to work more closely with community advocates to protect children and prevent the separation of families.

According to ICE, the 8:30 a.m. raid was part of a yearlong investigation, which began with a review of the employment records of workers who were building military housing at the Mountain Home Air Force Base earlier this year.

Idaho Truss had been providing information to ICE for the past several weeks, Hoyd said.

ICE investigators said there is evidence the workers may have used fake Social Security numbers and other counterfeit identification like fraudulent Green Cards to get their jobs, said ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

Deportation proceedings have begun for the men, who were all in custody Thursday night, Dankers said.

Three of the men have been previously deported, Dankers said, and three have criminal convictions in the United States.

None appear to qualify to be released for humanitarian reasons, Dankers said.

Being the primary caregiver for children would be a possible reason for release, Dankers said.

Even if released, those workers would still be deported but the process would likely take longer than for someone who remained in custody, Dankers said.

Idaho Truss has about a third of its truss builders remaining, Hoyd said. Those workers will pick up some extra hours temporarily.

"Operationally, it'll be about a day set back," Hoyd said. "We'll need to hire more truss builders."

No charges have been filed against the company yet, and the investigation is ongoing, Dankers said

ICE's investigation began with a tip from the public and information gathered over the last year led to the Nampa raid Thursday, Dankers said.

Idaho Truss & Component Co. has been in business for 30 years and produces wood framing components for buildings - including roof trusses, floor joists and panels, wall panels, and other structural supports - according to the company's Web site.

The company also has work crews who can assemble the construction materials in the field, company officials said Thursday.

Family members seeking information on any of the workers who have been detained should call ICE at (208) 685-6697.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/102/story/594009.html