Some Action on Criminal Illegal Immigrants

I recently noted that criminal illegal aliens in our prisons have access to tax funded programs including a GED which then gives some of them access to the in-state tuition benefit at our Universities.

It looks like ICE is going to make it harder for them to use that benefit IF the ICE prison sweeps continue. The SL Trib has a report on the enforcement program (Immigration cops comb jails for criminal suspects in country illegally).

Along the Wasatch Front and in southwest Utah, immigration agents visit jails almost every weekday looking for immigrants who have been arrested by local police. And the patrols are gaining new emphasis.

In March, immigration agents announced an expansion of the jail program, including improved technology to record fingerprints in a database and alert authorities when a previously arrested immigrant is again booked into a jail.

The jail patrols also demonstrate a priority for immigration enforcement. Rather than seeking every undocumented immigrant or making frequent raids at workplaces, federal agents are concentrating on immigrants accused of breaking the law after they arrive in the United States.

The article also has a UC Davis professor who doesn’t like the ICE sweeps give the obligatory “immigrants commit fewer crimes than the native-born population” quote. Of course, that statistic includes (or is exclusively related to) legal immigrants. The professor also seems to fail to comprehend that illegal immigrants have committed at least one crime (illegal entry or violating visa requirements) and likely, have a few more under their belt related to identity fraud if they happened to have a job or applied for a job in the US.

While ICE deporting those who have committed additional crimes is good, we still have a porous border where many can reenter (such as Mr. Escudero-Gonzalez, convicted of drunk driving and drug possession, who is highlighted in the article), if they so desire and, potentially, qualify for in-state tuition.

Finally, an information request (again): If anyone knows of any written rule on how high school attendance is verified by Universities for illegal immigrants applying for the in-state tuition benefit, please pass it along. While I’ve been told that they look at high school transcripts, I still can not find any written policy requiring the verification. If left solely to the State Code (which appears to leave verification to the administrator’s discression), a simple verbal “yes, I attended a Utah High School” could suffice for proof of meeting the requirement.

Criminal Illegal Immigrant Education (Update)

Apparently, we are helping to pay for criminal illegal alien education programs. The Davis County Clipper had an article on April 10, 2008, entitled “Jail inmates offered education programs” (not available on the web). The article notes three programs in place for the inmates: GED certificate (General Education Development, ie ‘High School diploma’), ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), and ABE (Adult Basic Education - literacy education).

The programs are administered by the Utah State Office of Education. I found the programs are under the Adult Education department (more information is available at the link).

There are no disqualifications (involving legal residency) for participation in the programs. I understand that the ESOL program is volunteer driven and that no residency criteria is required for the use of Federal (tax) funds. However, all programs are open to those who are here illegally and have engaged in criminal activity.

We have the pleasure of paying for these programs via our tax dollars. At least, only those legally here should have access, but that is not the case.

Further, I would hope that obtaining the GED will not, then, entitle a criminal illegal immigrant who has resided in the state for three years to qualify for our in-state tuition. If so, what a deal: enter illegally (butting in front of those in legal immigration lines), commit a crime, get a taxpayer funded education and then be rewarded with discounted tuition at one of our universities (while legal immigrants and US citizens without criminal records pay the nonresident rate). Good grief.

Your tax dollars at work.

UPDATE:  While I’m still looking for the written administrative rule addressing in-state tuition HS attendance documentation, I am told that High School transcripts are required.  That only partially solves the problem, however (criminals illegal aliens still get tax-funded education and certain criminals will still qualify for the tuition benefit).  See comment 6 for details (and the rest of the comments for background).

Big Retraction: Davis and Weber Commission (UTA Tax)

It is late and I really don’t feel like typing up a post, but this is important as I dislike inaccurate information which can mislead.

I was wrong and partially wrong (government is still raising the price of goods). The Davis and Weber County Commissioners were NOT complicit with the legislature (specifically, Speaker Curt Bramble) in the UTA tax grab.

I had a chance to talk to someone with the Standard Examiner who was present when the legislature voted in the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) tax. While the Standard’s article (which I based my comments and suspicions on) indicated complicity by the commissioners, it should not have and should have made the article clearer on the subject. To their credit, the Standard source I talked to was totally upfront and honest about this. They said, ‘we make mistakes sometimes and do make it a priority to present clear information’. Fair enough. So It is my turn to say the same.

Now for the full story to clear everything up:

Speaker Curtis Bramble got the UTA tax increase passed at the 11th hour of the legislative session. It completely caught the Commissioners off guard. They had zero foreknowledge of the plan.

Why would Bramble care? Here’s why:
The tax money is NOT kept in the county where it is collected. UTA distributes it as they desire - especially into areas they’re developing, expanding, etc. Areas like Utah County. Guess who Bramble represents…

By placing this tax on us, UTA gets their way and Bramble lets us pay for Utah County’s benefit (rather than they pay for it themselves). UTA also gets it’s way in the process. I would guess UTA came up with this and had Bramble carry it out, but I don’t know that for certain.

Frankly, Bramble has made a superb Machiavellian* political move for his ‘principality’ (negligible political cost and reap benefits for him). I don’t like it at all, and this think it was lousy - in many respects, it is as state version of earmarked pork, but it was a shrewd move.

As such, my appologies to the Commissions. While I’m still uncertain, it appears that they were holding the line against UTA’s tax lust and inaccountiblility. The editorial cartoon I posted should have omitted the Commissions.

Going forward, it would be best to focus scrutiny on UTA. I would encourage Weber and Davis Commissioner’s to team up and protest the move. I would also encourage them to expect strict accountability from UTA (especially after the “executive bonus” flap) and, since we’ve had the tax shoved down our throat, press UTA that the money be accounted for and spent in our respective counties.

*Note: Machiavelli gets a bad rap. He just wrote about what has worked historically. When I use “Machiavelli” it isn’t derogatory, usually it indicates political astuteness. However, such tactics can be misused with serious consequences.

Government raises prices in Centerville, Bountiful, and Davis and Weber Counties (Update)

First, there’s the Standard Examiner’s “Lipstick on a pig” editorial regarding the tax increase in Weber and Davis counties for the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). One thing, in particular, struck me. I thought the tax increase was on non-food items. Evidently we’ll be seeing taxes on food (and food costs) increasing:

…the Legislature re-imposed the 0.05 percent sales tax on unprepared food — the grocery tax — to fund Utah Transit Authority operations in Davis and Weber counties.

UPDATE: Correction:  Davis and Weber Commissioners do NOT bear responsibility (click link for details on who is) for the tax hike as indicted.  The rest of the post, is however, correct regarding all the taxes imposed upon us.

The food tax is a regressive tax that impacts the poor proportionally more than others. We can, primarily, thank Davis and Weber County Commissioners for the increase they are trying to avoid taking responsibility for.

Second, the RAP tax kicks in this month (I think it started on April 1 but I’m not positive). Centerville and Bountiful residents now have the pleasure of being forced to subsidize live theater fans’ ticket prices and mayoral or city council pet projects. In other words, prices at Bountiful and Centerville stores just went up. Those in West Bountiful, Woods Cross, and North Salt Lake will remain the same.

Third, Bountiful residents also get to see power bills increase, unspecified cuts in power services, and the city maintain its $2 million transfer to itself via the covert power tax.

Ultimately, Bountiful residents get a governmental tax-and-spend hat trick (UTA, RAP, and the power tax) but all will see costs of goods increase as retailers charge the tax(es) and pass the power costs onto consumers.

Bountiful Keeps Covert Tax

As I’ve noted in the past, Bountiful uses its power rates to keep a nice cash flow into the city’s general fund. The city, essentially, overcharges users to maintain this flow into the city coffers.

The benefit is the city: 1. avoids potentially messy truth-in-taxation hearings and 2. can, disingenuously, claim lower (than actual) tax/fee burdens on residents. Additionally, the city has, in the past, suprisingly boasted, that control of the power rates allows them to get money from tax-exempt facilities like churches, food banks, and other charities. Hey - it’s about time those dastardly tax-dodgers pay!

Power rates are going to jump another 10% for Bountiful residents/businesses. Fortunately, the city will maintain its $2 million slush fund transfer:

BL&P [Bountiful Light and Power], as a public business concern, has traditionally transferred a portion of revenues to other city uses. [The city manager] said that will continue.

However, maintenance of that transfer may come at an, unspecified, cost (emphasis added):

“Normally all of this would translate to a 15 percent increase (in power rates), but we’re cutting other things down,” [The city manager] said.

Another noteworthy point is that while Bountiful’s power company does not pay taxes, and, to my knowledge, does not face the same scruitying from the Utah Public Service Commission, its rates may be the same or higher (We could be higher (than Rocky Mountain Power),” after the rate hike, [BP&L director] said) than the private Rocky Mountain Power (which faces and adds the scrutiny and taxes into its power rates).

A few years ago, Bountiful’s council (or city manager, or both), stated that they would consider selling BP&L, if it cost residents more than private power. I doubt that was a serious pledge, however. City government enoys its cloaked tax revenue too much for that in the near future.

Finally, the city is spinning that the transfer is proportionally less than in the past.  That’s not surprising as power rates have increased and continue to do so - throughout it all the city has continued to maintain it’s slush fund.