New Study Shows Illegal Immigration Costing Taxpayers $151 Billion + A Year

A new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) examined the financial impact of illegal immigration in the United States, revealing that hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on dealing with the issue.

In a statement to The Foreign Desk, Ron Kovach, Press Secretary for FAIR, noted that as of last year, "American taxpayers shell out at least $151 billion each year to cover the cost of illegal immigration."

The data, Kovach says, revealed that taxpayers pay "$182 billion annually to provide services and benefits to illegal aliens and their dependents."

The report by FAIR explained that such costs are offset by around $31 billion in taxes which are "collected from the estimated 15.5 million illegal aliens living in the US, bringing the net cost to $150.7 billion annually."

According to the organization's website, illegal immigrants contribute roughly $32 billion in taxes at the state, local, and federal levels, noting that the net fiscal cost of illegal immigration to taxpayers is approximately $150.7 billion.

In 2017, FAIR found that the net cost of illegal immigration was around $116 billion, which meant that the price of illegal immigration increased by $35 billion in the last five years.

"The 2022 costs represent a 30 percent increase to taxpayers in just five years," Kovach explained to The Foreign Desk.

"Most of the additional costs have been added in the past two years as the Biden administration's de facto open borders policies have triggered a historic surge of new illegal migrants pouring across our borders."

According to the report, the updated price tag of $151 billion is a "conservative estimate as there are additional costs incurred from illegal immigration, but there is currently insufficient data to provide reliable cost estimates."

Some of the findings that stood out to FAIR included the gross annual cost of illegal immigration amounting to $182 billion annually. Another was illegal migrants paying taxes covering 17.2 percent of the costs they made for U.S. citizens, resulting in a net sum of $150.7 billion each year.

Regarding education costs, FAIR noted that it was the largest component of costs, given the 1982 Supreme Court ruling. According to the findings, the K-12 education for illegal aliens and their American-born children is around $78 billion, with $70.4 billion supported by states and their localities.

The fourth and fifth findings from FAIR dealt with health care ($42. billion annually) and food assistance and nutritional programs used by illegal migrants and their children, costing taxpayers around $13.5 billion annually. According to the organization, federal, state, and local criminal justice costs associated with illegal immigration are $47 billion annually, excluding the cost of damages to victims affected by such acts.

"As America struggles to meet countless societal needs while facing the realities of our staggering $31 trillion national debt, the costs of providing for millions of people who have no legal right to be in the U.S. continues to grow at an alarming rate," commented Dan Stein, President of FAIR. "To be clear, most of this enormous financial burden has been inflicted on taxpayers by the open borders advocates at every level of government.

"Not only is the Biden administration refusing to rein in illegal immigration or remove the people who are breaking our laws, but they are also promulgating policies that actually encourage more of it while offering new protections and benefits to those who settle here illegally. 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. This has to stop," Stein said.

As the ongoing immigration crisis continues at the U.S.-Southern border with Mexico, the Biden White House continues to say that the administration has a handle on the issue, despite reports from Border Patrol officials that the situation is in chaos.

In Congress, Republican lawmakers have called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to deal with the ongoing situation or face impeachment charges.

While the Border Patrol has thwarted several illegal migrant crossings and drug cartel movements, agents note that many are entering the country along with illegal illicit drugs like fentanyl reaching young Americans.