A federal program meant to reimburse states on the U.S.-Mexico border for costs associated with prosecuting immigration and drug cases has been greatly mishandled by local law enforcement, the Department of Justice has found. And so far, it has cost California a total of $10 million.
A Justice department statement released late last week shows that Mendocino county in the Golden state must pay $1.7 million for funds that were improperly received through the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative, a program that supplies grants to all states bordering Mexico.
But that's not all. Since late 2008 California counties have now doled out a total of $10 million back to the federal government after a variety of settlements, which can't be good news considering that the state is in the middle of a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall.
As federal documentation (PDF) details:
Between fiscal years 2002 and 2007, The Justice Department awarded Mendocino more than $1.9 million in SWBPI funds based on that county’s submissions for 710 cases that it claimed were eligible for reimbursement. An audit by the Office of the Inspector General found that Mendocino incorrectly submitted claims for reimbursement for any case in which the defendant was an undocumented alien, regardless of whether the case was federally initiated.
...
This is the sixth settlement the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California has reached with county and local jurisdictions in Northern California related to improper claims submitted for reimbursement under SWBPI. In total, the Department of Justice has recovered more than $10 million through the six settlements. In October 2008, the City and County of San Francisco agreed to repay $5.2 million in SWBPI funds; in December 2008, the County of Lake agreed to repay $989,605 in SWBPI funds, and Humboldt County agreed to repay $416,986; and in January 2009, the County of San Mateo agreed to repay $1.5 million in SWBPI funds, and the County of San Benito agreed to repay $397,984.
So, if this is just what one inspector found in Northern California, what about the other states?
(Cross-posted at Gabacha.com)