Paying for Criminal Aliens:

Liberal Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D.-Calif.) joined a handful of Democrats and some conservative Republicans in reintroducing legislation requiring the federal government to reimburse states and localities for the costs associated with incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens. "Control of illegal immigration is a federal responsibility," Feinstein said. "When our federal agencies fall short in this responsibility, state and local taxpayers should not have to foot the bill." Feinstein's bill is co-sponsored by Senate GOP Policy Chairman Jon Kyl (R.-Ariz.), who said the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program consistently falls short on funding. "Undeniably," Kyl said, "the federal government should be reimbursing affected states for the costs of its failure to resolve what is clearly a federal issue."