Federal Appropriations for State Legalization Impact Assistance Grants

GAO discussed the State Legalization Impact Assistance Grants (SLIAG) authorized by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) to help states meet the costs of services provided to aliens granted legal status by IRCA and to cover federal program and administrative costs. GAO found that: (1) actual costs may exceed the $2.4 billion allocated, but the amount will be sufficient to cover anticipated drawdowns through 1991; (2) given the expected level of drawdown activity, Congress could take action on the 1991 budget by moving funds between fiscal years; and (3) decisions about rescinding the $537 million for fiscal year (FY) 1991 and $555 million for FY 1992 should be delayed until next year's appropriation process, when better state cost data will be available.