It goes without saying that illegal immigration was the number one issue of the Donald Trump 2016 campaign. Now-President Trump made it clear that he would be going after the 10-15 million illegal immigrants in America – and the reason why is obvious. According to one study, the cost of illegal immigrants to taxpayers every year is $113 billion.
Of all federal outlays on illegal immigrants, 27% is devoted towards “administration of justice,” while 21% is medical, and 29% are “general expenditures.” Only 16% of costs are public assistance. At the state level, almost all the costs are related to education, Medicaid, and justice.
And of course there are an array of other problems with illegal immigration, such as crime, the fact that they displace Americans from jobs, and drive down native wages.
So can America solve its illegal immigration problem in a humane way? According to a new video by Prager University featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Charles Krauthammer, and answer is yes, and it starts with building a border wall.
So to recap the key points:
- Borders work. The triple fence outside of San Diego led to a 90% reduction in infiltration
- Israel’s border fence on the West Bank had a similar effect as the San Diego border.
- Hungary. Macedonia, Bulgaria, Austria, Greece, Spain, and Norway have all began building border falls to stem the tide of Middle Eastern refugees.
- 40% of illegals overstay their visas, so visa reform is necessary too, as is a national e-verify system.
So what are we waiting for? The annual cost of illegal immigration is a multiple of the $10-25 billion cost of a border well. Let’s build it – and why not make it ten feet taller while we’re at it!
