Opinion ID: 733323
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reimbursement for Costs of Incarceration

Text: 28 Under 8 U.S.C. § 1365, the Attorney General is authorized to reimburse states for the cost of incarcerating illegal aliens convicted of state crimes. Section 1365, however, does not appropriate any funds and is made [s]ubject to the amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts. 8 U.S.C. § 1365(a). 11 29 In Count III, California seeks a declaration that the Attorney General has violated § 1365 because she has not decided to reimburse the State for the costs incurred in incarcerating illegal aliens out of monies available, but not specifically appropriated, for that purpose. While the record reflects that no amounts have been provided in advance, California urges that 8 U.S.C. § 1365 authorizes the Attorney General to allocate generally appropriated INS funds to this specific purpose. 12 30 Assuming, without deciding, that California has correctly interpreted § 1365, the Attorney General's decision to allocate monies generally appropriated to her in a lump-sum for the administration of immigration laws for the specific purpose of reimbursing a State for the costs of incarcerating illegal aliens under 8 U.S.C. § 1365 is committed to agency discretion by law and is not subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701(a)(2). Lincoln v. Vigil, 508 U.S. 182, 192, 113 S.Ct. 2024, 2031, 124 L.Ed.2d 101 (1993)(The allocation of funds from a lump-sum appropriation is another administrative decision traditionally regarded as committed to agency discretion.). Inasmuch as California may be seeking in Count III a further declaration that the Attorney General is authorized to allocate funds to the State to reimburse it for the costs of incarcerating illegal aliens, California seeks an unconstitutional advisory opinion. See Native Village of Noatak v. Blatchford, 38 F.3d 1505, 1509 (9th Cir.1994)(A federal court has no jurisdiction to hear a case that cannot affect the litigants' rights.).