Rep. Gosar Leads Bipartisan Effort to Give Rural Law Enforcement Resources to Jail Illegal Immigrants Convicted of Crimes

Statement

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after spearheading a bipartisan letter signed by 43 members of Congress seeking to ensure adequate resources for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) in the fiscal year 2016 funding bill (Omnibus):

"Law enforcement in America continues to struggle with the tidal wave of illegal immigrants that continue to flood our nation. Yet, the Obama Administration has ignored the federal government's responsibility to enforce our immigration laws, further burdening local communities and sheriffs while forcing them to shell out exorbitant amounts of money to do the federal government's job.

"It is shameful that the federal government would compound these challenges by failing to compensate states and local governments for the costs of incarcerating illegal immigrants convicted of crimes. The Obama Administration needs to either start enforcing the rule of law, including our immigration laws, or reimburse local law enforcement picking up the slack."

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