There’s a common liberal myth that illegal immigrants are ineligible for federal welfare because they’re not U.S. citizens – and there’s some truth to the matter. But it ignores the very real costs that illegals impose on our society. For one, suppose we have a household composed of mainly illegal immigrants, but it has a non-illegal head of household who receives benefits, claiming the others as dependents.
In fact, an Associated Press headline back from June confirms as much: “Fear of deportation drives people off food stamps in US.” The article claims that “A crackdown on illegal immigration under President Donald Trump has driven some poor people to take a drastic step: opt out of federal food assistance because they are fearful of deportation, activists and immigrants say.”
So, what would illegals have to fear if they couldn’t receive benefits in the first place?
Welfare benefits are, of course, only one of the many ways illegal immigrants put a burden on the American taxpayer. Of all federal outlays on illegal immigrants, 27 percent are devoted towards “administration of justice,” while 21 percent are medical, and 29 percent are for “general expenditures.” Only 16 percent of costs are public assistance.
Plus, when illegal immigrants have children here, they become legal citizens. They’re then entitled to an even larger array of benefits (including free K-12 education). The total cost of illegal immigration is $113 billion a year at the federal, state, and local level, but the vast majority of the costs ($84 billion) are paid by state and local governments, according to one study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
But that’s just the cost of benefits received. What about the opportunity cost of illegals working and not paying taxes that would otherwise be paid by a legal American worker? A heck of a lot according to a brand new study:
Tax credits received by illegal immigrants and wage write-offs U.S companies claim in their illegal employment costs the Treasury $296 billion over 10 years, according to a new report that is urging Congress to crackdown on the loopholes.
Annually, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, the lost taxes bill is about $30 billion, enough to fund the average middle income tax cut the Trump administration is considering, about $300.
That comes on top of wage losses to legal workers of $118 billion when companies illegally hire undocumented aliens, said CIS.
I’ll take this time to remind everyone that enforcing immigration laws is something every nation does – it’s hardly a “racist” policy enacted by mean ol’ America. Mexico has a problem with illegal immigration from Central America. And guess what?
They deport more Central American illegal immigrants than the U.S.
Funny that.
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