The tax burden from illegal immigration at the federal, state, and local levels is roughly $150.7 billion per year, according to an analysis published on Wednesday by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
The conservative advocacy group, which claims to publish the “only comprehensive examination of the financial impact of illegal immigration in the United States,” found that the cost of illegal immigration for taxpayers has increased by $35 billion over the past five years. Illegal immigrants generate some $32 billion in tax revenue, compared to the $182 billion they reportedly generate in public expenses.
“The costs of providing for millions of people who have no legal right to be in the United States continues to grow at an alarming rate,” FAIR President Dan Stein said in comments provided to The Daily Wire. “Most of this enormous financial burden has been inflicted on taxpayers by the open borders advocates at every level of government.”
The majority of the $66.5 billion of federal expenses incurred as a result of illegal immigration comes in the form of $23.1 billion in medical costs, including Medicaid expenses for American-born children of illegal immigrants and uncompensated hospital expenditures, as well as $25.1 billion in federal justice and border enforcement efforts, such as Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some $11.6 billion in welfare expenditures also come through initiatives such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
Most spending linked to illegal immigrants at the state level occurs through $73.3 billion in education expenses and $21.8 billion in law enforcement and justice activities. The states of California and Texas witness the highest taxpayer burden from illegal immigration.
The report noted that illegal immigrants typically fall into the lowest tax brackets and therefore receive a considerably higher payout from federal and state programs than tax expenses incurred. Many also “work in the underground economy” and “avoid paying any income tax.”
As many as 5.5 million migrants have crossed into the United States under the Biden administration, according to data from FAIR. Critics of immigration policies forwarded by the Biden administration have asserted that lackluster emphasis on securing the border and increased resources for migrants who enter the country have worsened the crisis.
“Not only is the Biden administration refusing to rein-in illegal immigration or remove the people who are breaking our laws, they are promulgating policies that actually encourage more of it while offering new protections and benefits to those who settle here illegally,” Stein continued. “Likewise, a growing number of states and localities create their own costly magnets for illegal aliens by declaring themselves sanctuaries and offering new benefits and services.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been designated as the nation’s border czar by President Joe Biden, has touted economic instability, climate change, food insecurity, and other “root causes” that she says lead to illegal immigration from Central America. The official recently announced that she galvanized $4.2 billion from private sector companies to invest in the region.