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Illegal Immigration Costs Demonstrated Again
Heritage Foundation ^ | March 6, 2007 | Heritage Foundation

Posted on 03/07/2008 8:11:52 AM PST by AuntB

Slowly but surely Washington is acknowledging the high cost illegal immigration inflicts on local governments. Today the New York Times reports on a study by the University of Arizona and San Diego State University showing counties along the Mexican border spent $1.23 billion processing illegal immigrants through their justice systems between 1999 and 2006.

Cochise County, Arizona, supervisor Paul Newman told that Times: “This is a huge problem because we can’t keep up fixing roads, the other costs of law enforcement, keeping up health agencies.”

Heritage research shows the costs of low-skilled immigrants to local governments does not end there. In FY 2004, at the state and local level, the average low skill immigrant household received $14,145 in benefits and services and paid only $5,309 in taxes. The average low skill immigrant households imposed a net fiscal burden on state and local government of $8,836 per year.

Current federal immigration policy permits a massive inflow of both legal and illegal low skill immigrants to enter and reside in the U.S. This imposes a massive unfunded mandate on state and local government which much bear the costs of that immigration flow.

Republicans in the Senate have offered a slew of bills designed to cut the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States. Democrats have also begun embracing a tougher stance on immigration and may force an enforcement-only bill sponsored by Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) to the House floor over House leadership objections. Shuler’s SAVE (Secure America through Verification and Enforcement) Act has drawn 140 cosponsors, 48 of whom are Democrats.

In the meantime, states looking to alleviate the fiscal burden from their illegal immigrant populations have a number of tools at their disposal including: 1) implementing REAL ID standards for state drivers licenses; 2) denying public benefits; 3) imposing sanctions on employers who hire illegals; and 4) ensuring voters are citizens. States like Arizona and Oklahoma that have already implemented similar measures have seen great progress in decreasing their illegal populations.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: aliens; crimaliens; illegalaliens; immigration
Also today:

Illegal-immigrant criminals siphon funds

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20080306-9999-1m6immig.html

[snip]March 6, 2008

WASHINGTON – The next time a San Diego sheriff's deputy arrests a man who tries to steal a car, hauls him to a county detention center, starts asking questions and discovers he's in the country illegally, here's what will happen:

The tax-supported district attorney's and public defender's offices will handle his case, a tax-supported judge will preside if it goes to trial, he'll spend an average three weeks in the local jail at $100 each day, a state prison could house him for years at $121 a day, and tax-funded probation officers will follow his progress.

Only after that will he be deported.

1 posted on 03/07/2008 8:11:53 AM PST by AuntB
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To: AuntB

The people should stop sending their tax dollars to Washington DC until our corrupt politicians start doing their jobs. Hitting them in the pocketbook will force them to pay attention. We have to do something or else they will continue to walk all over us.


2 posted on 03/07/2008 8:26:54 AM PST by peeps36 (OUTLAWED WORDS--INSURGENT,GLOBAL WARMING,UNDOCUMENTED WORKER,PALESTINIAN,TERMINATED PREGNANCY)
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To: peeps36

Some people already have.

I have not given a dime to the republican party since the first shamnesty bill raised its head... nor will I. I have instead donated to political organizations that will fight the spread of socialism and government largesse, and I will only support candidates who feel that enough is enough with “compassionate conservatism”.


3 posted on 03/07/2008 8:34:32 AM PST by snowrip (Liberal? YOU ARE A SOCIALIST WITH NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT.)
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To: snowrip

I donate to individual candidates. The Grand Old Plantation can grow their own money.


4 posted on 03/07/2008 8:38:09 AM PST by cripplecreek (Voting CONSERVATIVE in memory of 5 children killed by illegals 2/17/08 and 2/19/ 08)
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To: AuntB

Now, now. Illegal aliens are revitalizing our country. Look at all the huge budget surpluses in California since the illegals started coming there in large numbers. I’m worried that U.S. citizens from other states might start moving by the millions to California to take advantage of the wonderful atmosphere the illegals have created there, thus depleting the populations of the other 49 states. Surely California will become a destination state for millions of Americans seeking low taxes, less regulation, nice neighborhoods, family values, and top-of-the-line public schools, thanks to the innovative political climate created there by the alien invasion.


5 posted on 03/07/2008 9:02:32 AM PST by puroresu (Enjoy ASIAN CINEMA? See my Freeper page for recommendations (updated!).)
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To: AuntB
I've been using the number $14 bill a year for services to illegals in CA. Now I'm reading $16.

On the radio last week, I heard that CA spends $200 bill a year after you factor in federal money. $25 bill to illegals. That's school, education, health care the whole mess.

6 posted on 03/07/2008 9:07:45 AM PST by purpleraine
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To: AuntB

A: It’s ALWAYS been the case that rich people hiring illegals pass many of the employee costs along to the middle class. It’s a sweet deal, for the rich.

B: Heath Schuler is still a bastard for being a democrat.


7 posted on 03/07/2008 9:16:33 AM PST by Scourge of God (Pretty Stupid, Evil Stupid, or Old Stupid -- is this the best our country can find for President?)
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To: puroresu

sarcasm alert? ;-D


8 posted on 03/07/2008 9:35:03 AM PST by machogirl
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To: puroresu

>Now, now. Illegal aliens are revitalizing our country. Look at all the huge budget surpluses in California since the illegals started coming there in large numbers. I’m worried that U.S. citizens from other states might start moving by the millions to California to take advantage of the wonderful atmosphere the illegals have created there, thus depleting the populations of the other 49 states. Surely California will become a destination state for millions of Americans seeking low taxes, less regulation, nice neighborhoods, family values, and top-of-the-line public schools, thanks to the innovative political climate created there by the alien invasion.<

Snickering.


9 posted on 03/07/2008 9:39:44 AM PST by Califreak (Hangin' with Hunter-under the bus "Dread and Circuses")
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To: purpleraine
There was a recent study that estimated the yearly cost at over $300bill for the whole country. That's more than we spend on 2 wars overseas. There are other studies that look at depressing wages and other factors that decrease GDP and other things that make it even greater. It goes way beyond just the cost of chasing them down and putting them in jail.
10 posted on 03/07/2008 9:57:22 AM PST by chuckles
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To: AuntB
This is more mis-info from Heritage Foundation.

These studies clearly show that, even though is the federal govt's responsibility to control the borders and pay to control the border, fedgov is not doing their job.

Instead, the costs are being pushed off on the border counties as well as border states. During the last session, the Texas legislature had to spend 100 million to do what fedgov is supposed to do.

And it not just interdicting illegal activity. It is also fedgovs failure to provide money to facilitate legal cross-border activity.

The Heritage Foundation needs to change their name to the Southern Heritage Foundation and the republican party need to change their name to the Dixiecrat Party.

11 posted on 03/07/2008 10:01:16 AM PST by Ben Ficklin
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To: chuckles
I have taken my neighbor to the emergency room twice in the last three years. For actual medical emergencies. I was amazed at the people in the waiting area of the ER who had the flu, colds, minor injuries etc. From appearances and conversations, they were hispanic.

I asked the triage nurse if they were really emergencies. She said no. Most had no iunsurance and no doctor, so they were using the ER for a doctor's office.

I know ERs have closed in Cal for losing money.

12 posted on 03/07/2008 10:44:09 AM PST by purpleraine
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To: purpleraine
I think one of the problems with the sanctuary, amnesty crowd is they haven't actually lived in the real world. Just an impromptu visit to any ER in any state by any government official will open their eyes. One of the first eye openers for me was when property taxes went up to pay for more school buildings and teachers in my town. I was a telephone installer for SBC in Texas at the time. When the time came, I got the orders to install T1's for Internet in a slew of portable buildings at ALL the schools in the area. Each school had 2-4 portable buildings with teachers to fill them and more than 20% were hispanic, many spoke NO English. I asked officials about it and they freely admitted that they had multi million dollar building plans because of illegals attending their schools. The new teacher had to be bilingual.

If you have portable buildings on your school grounds, it will soon be replaced and filled with illegals with more teacher union members that want the US to plummet to 3rd world status. The constructors that build the school buildings will most likely be built with illegal labor. If my tax money is going to be used, shouldn't it go to taxpaying Americans? The contractor will be American, so he can bid the job, but his workers will never be challenged.

A simple check with hospitals will tell you that they are going under, even with ridiculous billings, because NOBODY pays. My insurance payments probably cover for 5 people that don't pay. When you hear the Dems complain about 40million "uninsured", they fail to tell you that about 12 million of those are illegal aliens. You can bet they will be covered if we have single pay health care. They are filling out IRS forms in record numbers this year to get the stimulus payment this summer.

Here is what we have to look forward to

Link

13 posted on 03/07/2008 1:34:35 PM PST by chuckles
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To: AuntB

Yes, it’s a horrible problem. Very expensive for taxpayers.

So is awarding military plane contracts to a European country.

If Boeing doesn’t get it back, not only will 40,000 workers lose their jobs, but the trickle-down effect will cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions for years in the form of welfare payments, and prosecution and jail costs of newly impoverished youth gone wrong. Increased drug use will cause more crime. And on it goes. Not that every laid-off Boeing family will fall into poverty and the social ills it produces, but enough will to impact society perhaps for decades.

What is WRONG with the leadership of this country? Both parties are totally irresponsible.


14 posted on 03/07/2008 1:43:35 PM PST by Veto! (Opinions freely dispensed as advice)
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To: chuckles

Thanx for the link.


15 posted on 03/07/2008 6:27:23 PM PST by purpleraine
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