06.04.07

Senate Approves Cantwell Amendment to Help Northern Border Communities with Costs of Border-Related Cases

WASHINGTON, DC – Monday evening, the Senate voted to add U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell’s northern border prosecution initiative to the immigration reform bill currently under consideration. This measure, which Cantwell introduced as an amendment in May, would set up a reimbursement program to help border communities continue their vital role in keeping our country secure without breaking their budgets.

"Communities along Washington’s northern border are spending millions of dollars to prosecute border crimes each year," said Cantwell. "If the federal government is going to keep dumping cases on these communities, then the federal government needs to help them cover the cost. America’s northern border communities play a critical role in keeping our country secure, and they need our help if they’re going to keep doing the job."

Modeled on an existing, successful program for the southwest border, the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Reimbursement Act would authorize $28 million annually to reimburse northern border communities for the cost of prosecuting cases, detaining suspects, and constructing holding spaces. Reimbursements would cover investigations and arrests initiated by federal law enforcement officers, as well as any case involving a violation of federal border security law referred to state or local authorities for prosecution.

Rick Larsen (D-WA) has introduced similar legislation as a stand-alone bill in the House. Border counties pay for and prosecute as many as 85 percent of the border arrests made in Washington state each year, with Whatcom County alone spending approximately $2 million each year to prosecute these crimes.

In 2006, the Senate version was included in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act passed by the Senate. However, the immigration legislation later stalled and the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Reimbursement Act never received final approval from Congress.