Baltimore County jail officials have asked lawmakers to approve a contract they said will maximize their share of federal funding for undocumented immigrants in the county prison system.
County Warden James O?Neill wants to renew a contract with the Texas-based Justice Benefits Inc. to procure federal funding available to pay for undocumented immigrants. He told council members Tuesday he expects the company to generate $25,000 to $30,000 annually, but it could produce as much as $72,000.
The county would pay the company 18 percent commission.
“The federal government pays us for having these people,” O?Neill said. “We need to determine who is eligible and the company has the proper software and can assist us with submitting our request.”
Nearly 70 out of the county?s current 1,253 inmates are foreign-born, O?Neill said, but not necessarily illegal.
The county hasn?t received any funds procured during its first contract with Justice Benefits, an eight-month term that expired in February, because the federal government has not yet set its rate-per-inmate for that period, O?Neill said. The company recovered nearly $2.4 million in federal reimbursements in 2004 for five area governments, ranging from $42,600 in Frederick County to $1,358,000 for Montgomery County, according to county documents.
Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, D-District 2, asked O?Neill if the county has sufficient resources to procure the funds itself. But O?Neill said the legwork to determine who is eligible ? immigrants convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors incarcerated for at least four consecutive days ? would require the work of two clerks, or the equivalent of a $50,000 to $60,000 payout.
Councilman Vince Gardina, D-District 5, asked about Carroll County officials? apparent decision to drop the company in favor of procuring the funds themselves. O?Neill said the amount that county generated in successive years reportedly decreased.
