The financial impact of illegal immigrants

The Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today offers it's findings on the financial impact of illegal immigrants in the United States. The S&P believes national security and illegal immigration "overlap, they're essentially separate problems with their own dynamics". Well of course that's true, so what are the costs and benefits in the most affected states and municipalities along the U.S.-Mexico border? source

What is the scope of undocumented immigration in the U.S.?

According to most estimates, about 11 million undocumented immigrants are now in the U.S., with about 56% coming from Mexico and 22% from other Latin American countries. Many Latino immigrants end up settling or working in California, Texas, and Arizona, although noticeable numbers now reside in the South, Midwest, Northeast, and Rocky Mountain states.

Approximately two-thirds have been in the U.S. for 10 years or fewer. Recent statistics from the Pew Hispanic Research Center indicate that undocumented immigrants account for about 4.9% of the civilian labor force, or 7.2 million workers out of a total U.S. labor force of 148 million.

What are the strategies for dealing with the influx of undocumented immigrants?

Bills by: Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wisc.); Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.); Compromise Senate bill April 6; the House bill.

What are the costs of undocumented immigration in the U.S.?

There are real costs for some states and municipalities, especially for health care and education. But Standard & Poor's believes that a serious misallocation of these costs among various levels of government is at least as much of a problem as their overall magnitude.

Each year, for example, the U.S. Social Security Administration maintains roughly $6 billion to $7 billion of Social Security contributions in an "earnings suspense file" -- an account for W-2 tax forms that cannot be matched to the correct Social Security number. The vast majority of these numbers are attributable to undocumented workers who will never claim their benefits.

If those funds could be earmarked for local support, they would make a sizable dent in education costs. Local school districts are estimated to educate 1.8 million undocumented children. At an average annual cost of $7,500 (averages vary by jurisdiction) per student, the cost of providing education to these children is about $11.2 billion. That means roughly half of the education costs for undocumented immigrant children could be met if these Social Security funds could be redirected.

While this specific reallocation of funds may never occur, the principle, in our opinion, remains valid: Taxes from the spending of undocumented workers can help offset the costs those workers generate. Past studies have shown that even in a state like California, which has the highest number of undocumented immigrants, those immigrants generate approximately one-third to one-half of their estimated costs to the state through sales taxes and other assorted fees. In short, these costs are real, but they could also be more manageable.

(Note by Debbie: I do not for one minute buy this argument.)

What might the consequences be if illegal immigration was severely restricted and guest worker status made more difficult to achieve?

We would expect to see costs for employers in these industries to gradually rise as the pool of cheap labor diminished. Those higher costs would likely be passed along to consumers, resulting in pricier homes, produce, and medical care, although the inflationary impact would likely be small. Indeed, one of the strongest arguments against large numbers of undocumented workers is that although they serve to keep prices down in the industries where they work, they do so by depressing wages.

Would a more lenient immigration law increase stable immigration patterns? Or would it make the situation more volatile by attracting even higher numbers of immigrants?

This is a central question in the current debate. No one can yet know if a program that points undocumented workers toward citizenship will serve to boost the number of immigrants coming to the U.S. What we do know, however, is that part of the answer to that question will depend on how well the Mexican economy fares. If it can create enough jobs to meet the demands of its burgeoning population, immigration policy made in Washington may become a far less contentious issue than it is now. source

There are many problems with the above analysis. The obvious is that we do not know many required statistics to come to a conclusion. We do not know how many illegals are actually in the US. We do not know how many are working and how many are on welfare. We do not know how many actually pay taxes of any kind. You cannot come to the above conclusion when you do not have all the facts.

I have seen other analysis, which I happen to believe, that shows a huge drain on our society from the large number of illegals (whether it be 10 million or 13 million). Hospitals, schools, doctor offices all closing for lack of funds. Why? Because they have been required to see and treat illegal immigrants with NO health insurance, NO jobs, NO money. You can't run a business when you give your services out for free. There is no question in my mind that illegals are more of a drain on or society than they are a benefit. If I have to pay a little more for a head of lettuce, so be it. I would appreciate your comments.
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Also a good read "A Fox Has Been In The Henhouse" at Fix4RSO

I’m a bit tired of being told this situation is “complicated” and requires a “world view”. I am sick of having guilt thrust upon me by others that have no concept or understanding of my situation, history, and plans for the future. I shall not be talked down to by those who believe they know the only solution. There are many solutions, and there are many steps to be taken to get some of them implemented. Can we at the very least stop arguing and start doing something? read more
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**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.

Comments

[Kevin J Riley]

The article does not even come close to addressing the cost of illegal immigration. Illegals cost the State of California almost 11 billion dollars per year over and above the money they return to the state in taxes. The schools have been overrun by non-english speaking children that have brought the overall performance of the school systems to near the bottom national. Our hospitals are closing because they can't afford the illegals that crowd the waiting rooms throughout the state. Forty four percent of California's prison population are illegal immigrants. They have devastated California's working poor and are undermining the states middle class. The government expects an orderly and law abiding puplic while they, in colusion with big business flaunt the law. How dare our representatives in Washington suggest that we legalize our current crop of illegals, knowing full well that we will have to make the next batch legal ten years from now, because they refuse to protect our borders. And to add insult to injury, while a million illegals invade our country every year, including thousands of harden criminals and who knows how many terrerist, our inspired leaders spend there time inviscerating the Bill of Rights, in the name of national security, which should start at the border.

[ablur]

I have been ranting on the very issues of dollars and cents. The article has a couple of flaws as it attempts to tackle the cost of schools. If they would use all fund budgets they would find the actual cost of education per student is just above $10,000.
The article also fails to point to the huge burden that has been placed on the judicial system. If we slap on court costs and appointed representation and translation for all those committing crimes other then entry, the numbers start jumping off the scale.
The cost of illegals in America is so vast that if we removed every single one from us and adjusted wages so real Americans would do the jobs, I would bet we would still see a reduced overall cost in real dollars.