by Catherine Smith
According to a new report by FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) illegal immigrants are flooding into sanctuary cities and states as far north as Montana, where they are allegedly consuming up to $6,500 in taxpayer-funded services. The report reveals the devastating economic consequences of illegal aliens on taxpayers, CNS News reports.
“The report says illegal aliens cost 10 states with the fewest immigrants $454 million, which works out to a net tax deficit of $4,000 to $6,500 per illegal,” writes CNS. The 10 states analyzed included New Hampshire, Mississippi, Alaska, Maine, North Dakota.
“To put that figure into context, that $454 million expenditure is more than 200 times what the state of Montana budgets for its entire Veterans Affairs program, and it is 2.5 times the total sum that West Virginia invests in its state university,” said the report.
“In many ways, the influx of immigrants into less populous areas of the country has an even greater impact on long-time residents than it does in larger and more urban areas,” FAIR President Dan Stein said in the report’s news release. “These areas have neither the tax base, nor the economic and social infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the growing numbers of immigrants taking up residence.”
FAIR examined migration to Alaska, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming in its study and found 415,000 foreign-born residents in these 10 states, of whom about 88,000 (or 21%) are illegal immigrants. Additionally, there are about 35,000 U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants in these states.
“Many local officials tout immigration, including illegal immigration, as a remedy to economic stagnation. However, as this report reveals, the reality is precisely the opposite,” Stein continued. “Illegal immigration, in particular, drives down wages and inhibits job opportunities for legal residents, while bringing more low-skilled, low-wage workers to these states. In turn, this increases costs to state and local governments, and discourages investment by businesses seeking a skilled labor force and lower overhead.”
In the 10 States, FAIR notes illegal immigrants are attracted to lower living costs, and there is a growing number of sanctuary jurisdictions (29 and counting, including the entire state of Vermont).
The report also examined the financial implications of immigrants more generally, noting local schools struggle to provide educators and cover the costs of instruction for 50,000 K-12 students classified as Limited English Proficient (LEP). FAIR estimated that taxpayers spend $96 million on the education of these students.
Nationwide, FAIR calculated that taxpayers spent $59.8 billion educating LEP students in 2016, up from $51.2 billion in 2010.
Matt O’Brien, director of research at FAIR, expanded on the impact of immigration on Lewiston, Maine, a city the nonprofit honed in on in its analysis, while speaking with CNSNews.com.
The FAIR report highlighted the growing immigrant population competes with legal residents for jobs in economically depressed areas. Employers show a preference for hiring foreign-born workers, who demand lower wages, over American citizens.
“This report highlights the fact that the adverse effects of unchecked mass immigration, combined with an immigration selection process that does not choose people based on individual merit, job skills and education, are now being felt in all parts of the country. Americans, in every part of the nation, are being affected by antiquated and unenforced immigration policies, which is why it is at the top of the list of voter concerns heading into the 2020 elections,” FAIR President Dan Stein concluded in the release.
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Catherine Smith is a newcomer to Washington D.C. She met, and married an American journalist and moved to D.C from the U.K. She graduated with a B.A in Graphic, Media and Communications and worked in design and retail in the U.K.
Photo “No Human Being is Illegal” by Kurman Communications, Inc. CC BY 2.0.
