H-0946.1  _______________________________________________

                     HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4009

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1995 Regular Session

By Representatives Mastin, Ballasiotes, Patterson, Backlund, Campbell, Sherstad, Elliot, Robertson and Costa

Read first time 01/20/95.  Referred to Committee on Corrections.

Asking Congress to consider various options regarding alien offenders.

    TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, Crowded prisons are clearly one of the most pressing problems facing our criminal justice system today; and

    WHEREAS, The cost of corrections is high and continues to rise out of control; and

    WHEREAS, Alien offenders constitute a significant and growing portion of our offender population; and

    WHEREAS, The enormous costs currently borne by our state to maintain alien offenders in our prisons and jails should be the direct responsibility of the federal government; and

    WHEREAS, The needs of law-abiding residents of our state should be the first and highest priority;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that Congress recognize the unfair and enormous economic burden created by the failure of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to adequately stem the flow of illegal aliens, and as such, fully compensate the state of Washington for the costs associated with incarcerating every alien offender in our jails and prisons or establish by federal decree a mechanism for deporting alien offenders to prisons in their respective countries while maintaining sentencing parity under an arrangement of remuneration established by treaty with the federal government.

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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