The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 2023 released a study showing that, in that year, “the net cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels – was at least $150.7 billion.”
The study first estimates that, at the start of 2022, there were 15.5 million illegals in the US (there are many more today). It then estimates that — at all levels — taxpayers were paying out approximately $182 billion to cover the costs of maintaining those 15.5 million illegals, plus their estimated 5.4 million children born here and thus deemed US citizens. That boils down to $8,776 for each illegal alien/citizen child, or a yearly cost for every taxpayer of $1,156.
While immigrant-happy “experts” cite taxes paid by illegals as a mitigating factor to the costs, FAIR estimates that illegals contribute only about $32 billion in taxes at the state, local, and federal levels, making the net fiscal cost of illegal immigration to taxpayers about $150.7 billion.
What’s more, the cost is rapidly rising. In 2017, the net cost was “only” $116 billion, so in just five years it had increased by nearly $35 billion. Don’t hold your breath waiting for it to go down.
For more, see FAIR.