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It costs more than $87 dollars a day to house one illegal immigrant in the Collier County jail.

In January, when the most recent survey was done, 283 inmates admitted to coming into the country illegally. That means, according to the Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter, the sheriff’s office pays more than $9 million dollars a year to house at least 283 illegal immigrants.

“We believe this is a tax payer burden,” Hunter told members of the Sunrise Rotary Club today. “You take a double hit, because if there are illegal foreign naturals in your jail, then you have (illegal immigrants) on the street using (services) they shouldn’t.”

Hunter was the keynote speaker during today’s Marco Island Sunrise Rotary Club meeting. His 20-minute long speech was dedicated to talking about immigration reform.

With immigration reform saturating the news, Jim Curran, a Sunrise Rotary past president, said he felt like this was the perfect time to bring Hunter down to speak to his organization.

“It just seemed appropriate,” Curran said. “This is a national crisis, that has an immediate impact on Marco Island and all of Collier County.”

Don Hunter

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, it is estimated that 20 million illegal immigrants are currently residing in the country. Hunter said today that about 56 percent of those entering the country illegally are from Mexico. A 2006 study by the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that there are about 800,000 illegal foreign nationals living in Florida.

Marco Island police Chief Roger Reinke said his department works with other county, state and national agencies to curb illegal immigration on Marco Island.

“Occasionally we come in contact with (people) who have deportation warrants,” Reinke said today. “We work with law enforcement to make sure they are taken to jail and eventually transferred.”

Reinke did say, however, that island officials have encountered times when illegal immigrants, from Cuba for example, landed on the island. In August, 20 undocumented Cubans, including a pregnant woman and a 1-year-old boy, came ashore at the north end of the Judge S.S. Jolley Bridge with the help of human smugglers.

Past president Mary Ann Kline said she found Hunter’s speech interesting.

“I thought it was right on target,” she said. “I think we need to get this information out there.”

While Rotary is not affiliated with any political organization, Curran said he hoped Sunrise Rotarians understood the effects of illegal immigration.