New Study Puts a Stunning Price Tag on Illegal Immigration

BY MICHAEL LEE  /  FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS

During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made enforcing our immigration laws a cornerstone of his campaign. To most Americans, Trump’s immigration policies were not only desperately needed, but simple common sense.

After all, the United States has a right to enforce its own immigration laws. Predictably though, liberals slammed Trump’s proposals as racist – the new fashionable argument against any conservative idea.

Of course, it hasn’t always been this way. At one time, getting tougher on illegal immigration was a bipartisan idea. While Republican President George W. Bush pushed hard for reforms, prominent Democrats such as Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama generally agreed. Today, Democrats have done a complete 180 from where they were a mere ten years ago.

Aside from calling many ideas “racist,” Democrats have come up with a host of other excuses for not wanting to enforce our immigration laws. Chief among those excuses is the idea that illegal immigration is a net benefit for the economy, costing U.S. taxpayers very little in the process. However, a new study may finally debunk that argument once and for all.

From the Washington Examiner:

The swelling population of illegal immigrants and their kids is costing American taxpayers $135 billion a year, the highest ever, driven by free medical care, education and a huge law enforcement bill, according to the the most authoritative report on the issue yet.

And despite claims from pro-illegal immigration advocates that the aliens pay significant off-setting taxes back to federal, state and local treasuries, the Federation for American Immigration Reform report tallied just $19 billion, making the final hit to taxpayers about $116 billion.

One point often ignored by pro-immigrant advocates is the cost of illegal immigration imposes on state and local governments. However, the study points out that it isn’t only the federal government paying out the cost. In fact, state and local government account for the majority of the fiscal burden:

State and local governments are getting ravaged by the costs, at over $88 billion. The federal government, by comparison, is getting off easy at $45 billion in costs for illegals.

The added burden on taxpayers and the unfairness to those who have applied to come into the United States through legal channels is also driving the administration’s immigration crackdown.

Over 68 often shocking pages, FAIR documents the average $8,075 in state, local and federal spending for each of the of 12.5 million illegal immigrants and their 4.2 million citizen children.

Broadly, the costs include $29 billion in medical care, $23 billion for law enforcement, $9 billion in welfare, $46 billion for education.

Some key takeaways from the study:

       - The staggering total costs of illegal immigrants and their children outweigh the taxes paid to federal and state governments by a ratio of roughly 7 to 1, with costs at nearly $135 billion compared to tax revenues at nearly $19 billion.

        – The nearly $135 billion paid out by federal and state and local taxpayers to cover the cost of the presence of 12.5 million illegal aliens and their 4.2 million citizen children amounts to approximately $8,075 per illegal alien and citizen child prior to taxes paid, or $6,940 per person after taxes are paid.

       - On the federal level, medical ($17.14 billion) is by far the highest cost, with law enforcement coming second ($13.15 billion) and general government services ($8 billion) third.

       - At the state and local level, education ($44.4 billion) was by far the largest expense, followed by general public services ($18.5 billion) and medical ($12.1 billion).

       - The top three states based on total cost to state taxpayers for illegal immigrants and their children: California ($23 billion); Texas ($10.9 billion), and New York ($7.5 billion).

In all, the new research is a stunning rebuke to an oft repeated liberal narrative. To check out the full report for yourself, click here. 

Michael writes for https://www.allenbwest.com/

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