Immigration Bill & Increases in Jail Fees

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding Arizona’s immigration bill. A variety of people have come out for or against this bill but I hope I can offer a different perspective to this bill. Many people have touched on the fiscal liability the bill leaves local governments open too. Undoubtedly the bill will provoke a variety of lawsuits that will ultimately cost tax payers a great deal of money. Yet another perspective is the cost it will take to process and jail people charged with violating this law. The bill makes it a misdemeanor to be in this country illegally. This will ultimately result in new arrests not previously made and as with many crimes, people will be charged and some sent to jail if only for a couple of days.

Nearly every local government in Arizona relies on their county sheriffs department to process and house inmates. Many sheriffs departments have increased their fees for housing inmates. Pinal County increased their fees 30%-45% and Maricopa reported increases in there fee schedules as well. Ultimately local governments have to pay this fee and many are having to adjust their budgets because of these increases. In some cases it’s understandable, a person may have to be jailed for many days if not weeks or months. In many cases individuals charged merely spend a 1-5 days in jail and usually just to wait to see a judge. All this adds up and ends up very costly.

So back to the immigration bill, all the new arrests will add to the number of inmates processed and jailed in county jails. So is it feasible to have this bill? Can we afford it?