Cost of Illegal Immigration -- Miss. State Official Frustrated by Federal Restrictions
by Chad Groening
November 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - - Mississippi's state auditor has joined the growing number of state officials across the country who believe the federal government is not doing enough to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. That's why he wants to go after employers who hire illegal aliens.Phil Bryant says Mississippi is like many other states -- illegal immigrants have descended on the state, taking low-paid, low-skilled jobs. The Mississippi auditor wants to know the exact financial drain the immigrants are having on the state's medical and educational services, but he has run into a roadblock.
"We don't know how much we're spending on education because we're not allowed to ask if you're a citizen or if your parents are citizens," Bryant explains. "[And] we're not certain how much we're spending in hospitals because we're not allowed to ask whether or not you're a citizen of the state of Mississippi."
Without that information, says the state official, the state is unable to determine what the associated costs are. In the meantime, however, he has a plan that he feels will discourage employers with state contracts from hiring from among illegal aliens.
"We need to immunize ourselves [in Mississippi] with a clear, definitive law that says if you're working for the state government or local governments [under contract] and receiving taxpayers' dollars -- and you're violating the law by hiring illegal immigrants -- we can void that contract," he says.
The state auditor asserts such a law could be effective. "If we say 'You're going to follow all of the federal and state laws, and if you don't we're going to terminate your contract with the state of Mississippi -- then we will end the motivation for illegal immigrants to come to [this state], which are those jobs," he says.
Bryant adds that once he gathers sufficient statistics documenting the impact of illegal immigrants in his state, he plans to present his findings to state lawmakers.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
