One of the biggest concerns many of you have expressed about illegal immigration is its effect on the economy.
That exact effect is hard to calculate. Do you count only the unpaid hospital emergency room bills, social services, and costs to our education system for people here illegally?
Or do you also count the lower cost of services and products made possible by illegal immigrants, who are willing to work for less pay than most citizens would accept?
And when you calculate the costs of illegal immigration, who do you include?
Is it fair to count adults here illegally only, or should their children (many of whom are citizens) also be thrown into the mix?
A recent story in the Dallas Morning News touches on these issues, suggesting that for employers, illegal immigration has a net-positive bottom line.
Near the end of the article, one employer indicates that with retiring baby boomers and a dropping fertility rate, Americans should be glad to have more workers here from Mexico.
That’s one perspective.
We (the immigration reporting team) think it’s important to cover the costs and benefits of illegal immigration. We’d like to know what you think should be included in the analysis.
Related stories:
- For employers, immigration has a bottom line
- Hospitals deporting illegal immigrants as health care costs rise
It’s hard to get a total number for the costs. Social services, schools, and hospitals don’t require proof of citizenship, so how do you know how much they actually use? Children of illegals should count as illegals because, that’s what they are.
Stupid question OCR. Kinda common sense, but then again, I am surprised any body voted for the other 3 choices. I guess a lot of people don’t have common sense and that would validate you question.
SO…..my bad not a stupid question….stupid people….maybe even me….dang-it!
:>)
It’s the illegal immigrants who drive the wages down to begin with. Illegals come here and have no problems sharing one home with 3 or 4 other familes.
For the bottom rung of employees, illegal immigration has depressed their wages by 25%. Please include that.
This is from 2004
Illegal immigration costs the taxpayers of California — which has the highest number of illegal aliens nationwide — $10.5 billion a year for education, health care and incarceration, according to a study released yesterday.
A key finding of the report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) said the state’s already struggling kindergarten-through-12th-grade education system spends $7.7 billion a year on children of illegal aliens, who constitute 15 percent of the student body.
The report also said the incarceration of convicted illegal aliens in state prisons and jails and uncompensated medical outlays for health care provided to illegal aliens each amounted to about $1.4 billion annually. The incarceration costs did not include judicial expenditures or the monetary costs of the crimes committed by illegal aliens that led to their incarceration.
“California’s addiction to ‘cheap’ illegal-alien labor is bankrupting the state and posing enormous burdens on the state’s shrinking middle-class tax base,” said FAIR President Dan Stein.
“Most Californians, who have seen their taxes increase while public services deteriorate, already know the impact that mass illegal immigration is having on their communities, but even they may be shocked when they lea
It is a falliacy to believe that illegal labor lowers the cost to consumers, the greedy business owners do not pass that savings on to us - they pocket the savings and live a very nice lifestyle; while we who must live amongs the illegals pay the price of a lower quality of life, overcrowded hospitals and classrooms. Street traffic and parking around apartment buildings and many neighborhoods is just jammed with parked cars.
Deporation is what I am for - let the chips fall where they may - if stuff goes up, so be it, we can always choose to pay or not to pay.
Any cost incurred by US Taxpayers dues to ILLEGALS unlawfully entering the US and subsequently having children is too much.
The high cost for illegals really doesn’t matter they are law breakers here illegally and need to be deported as they are turning our country into a third world country..
You all forget to include what the immigrant contributes, cheap labor, let’s air out all the dirty laundry Orange County.
I see non of you boycotting or not buying the houses that they help build, your houses they clean, food that they pick, food chains that they work in. All of you seem to take the money that they spend in rent, food, gas, and all other things they spend money on. Like it or not this country has been helped by the immigrant labor force (all races), “give me your poor your tired and hungry.” For many years this country has ignored the issue, just like they have with gas/oil, education, and other things to have it become a huge problem and cost to us. This nation (all of us) have spent Trillions to give democracy to a country 98% of us will never see, just think of what a better place we could have made our country, if we would have invested some of that money on this issue alone, and a few others at home.
I know some smart a** is going to bring up crime, gangs, drugs and the bad immigrant, for that I have no toleration they should be sent back. Good Day to You All.
You folks are participating in a global revolution engineered by the world’s power brokers. America is not the only country having it’s culture and traditions diluted. This is happening in practically every industrialized nation on the planet. If any of you have traveled to europe in the last decade you will notice huge subservient populations of foreign immigrants incorporated into many of their nations. The indigent populations do not like this anymore than we do but political correctness continues to steamroll right over the top of them. Poor people are easily controlled. And they work cheap too! And if they do not conform we just build more prisons to house them in. This trend will not go away. I applaud the good fight on part of the people but the writings are on the wall. Get ready to pay even more to support these illegal indigents as the years roll by. Over $10 billion in California alone last year. You will never see our government cut back on their payments to illegal foreigners. Why? Because, in their estimation, illegal foreigners are our future. Hope I didn’t ruin your day.
I have been to Europe.. And the only difference I see in immigration in Europe as compared to the US is… these people (not all) love the country they go to. They become part of the European countries and make a difference. Not claim their old country and live off the free services of the land they are in now. They actually do what immigrants should do.. Become part of the country they moved to by adapting to the culture they moved in on.. Not like most in the US. They just want our free money
I spent a few hours in the emergency room waiting area recently and was shocked by the huge numbers of non-emergency cases that came in. Stuffy noses, stomachaches, normal pregnancies-all being treated by trauma doctors at our expense. And if you think I am talking about Santa Ana guess again. This was in Anaheim Hills.
The baby boomers who are looking for a larger work force to sustain their social security payments will be very disappointed. Most illegal immigrants don’t contribute to Social Security thus, their employers do not pay anything into Social Security either.
The effect is strictly outgo. The money earned here in the US is sent to Mexico and no taxes are withheld to sustain the social services that the illegals demand. By producing anchor babies (US citizens), they are burdening our schools, WIC (welfare), freeways, jails, hospitals, social services and on and on. No end in sight.
Marlena Munoz
It’s ignorant of you to assume that business owners are pocketing the savings they realize by employing illegals. Those savings can very well be the difference between them staying in business and going under. If they didn’t pass on the savings then they wouldn’t be able to compete with other business. You are quick to call business owners greedy for accomplishing something that you never could. It’s called capitalism and this country was founded on it. And no I’m not a business owner. These people are coming here in search of a better life for their children and you’re concerned about the parking at your apartment.
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” - Oscar Wilde
Perhaps the OCR should read up on this issue before publishing such a politically correct piece of garbage. For one, start with the RAND study which reported handsdown that illegal aliens have a net negative effect on the economy. Then consider all of the other social problems with illegal immigration: disrespect for the English language, disrespect for the American culture, disrespect for immigration laws, and all of the crime perpetrated by illegals…
el costo es nada mucho. por el immigrantes work mucho hard y dance la salsa por sunday night.
The illegal population is just that, ILLEGAL. In particular, the Mexicans refuse to assimilate into society but instead continue to destroy our property, reduce property values, overcrowd the jail system, steal our ID’s, depress wages, devastate our health care system, screw up our educational institutions and ETC. The list is endless and so is the cost to the US taxpayers. How many jobs NOW require Spanish as part of the job requirement? Since most of don’t speak Spanish nor want to, the job loss to Americans is immeasurable.
While I realize the illegal immigrant population is not only Mexican, the Mexicans are the ones who demand all kinds of rights from America. They refuse to learn English, burn our flag and so on. I say kick them out of the country, including those ANCHOR babies. I am sick and tired of our politicians kissing the brown butt. One of these days, those of us who pay the taxes, are going to revolt in a BIG way, if you know what I mean.
ICE, do your job and get rid of these scum sucking pigs. Fine the employers and throw them in jail for hiring these Mexicans. Once the employers end up end jail, with the same Mexicans they hire, we will see some rapid changes to their hiring process. I don’t think the employers would want to spend ONE day incarcerated with their “employees.” Mexicans, GET out of my country!
rew Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Well said. Getting rid of these ILLEGALS would balance our CA budget…..
Drew Says:
This is from 2004
Illegal immigration costs the taxpayers of California — which has the highest number of illegal aliens nationwide — $10.5 billion a year for education, health care and incarceration, according to a study released yesterday.
A key finding of the report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) said the state’s already struggling kindergarten-through-12th-grade education system spends $7.7 billion a year on children of illegal aliens, who constitute 15 percent of the student body.
The report also said the incarceration of convicted illegal aliens in state prisons and jails and uncompensated medical outlays for health care provided to illegal aliens each amounted to about $1.4 billion annually. The incarceration costs did not include judicial expenditures or the monetary costs of the crimes committed by illegal aliens that led to their incarceration.
“California’s addiction to ‘cheap’ illegal-alien labor is bankrupting the state and posing enormous burdens on the state’s shrinking middle-class tax base,” said FAIR President Dan Stein.
“Most Californians, who have seen their taxes increase while public services deteriorate, already know the impact that mass illegal immigration is having on their communities, but even they may be shocked when they leave.
What’s this about counting or not counting anchor babies? You’ve left so much out from the economic impact.
What about the money they make, which instead of being circulated back into our economy, gets sent back to Mexico?
What about the higher insurance (both Car and health) we all pay for the uninsured illegals?
What about the lost tax collections from illegals who neither they nor their employers pay employee taxes?
What about the expense of jailing illegals who break the law in this country (which as a percentage of the population is much higher)?
and on and on and on..
There are massive economic ripple effects that aren’t reflected in the 5 to 10 billion dollar impact that is often quoted as the cost of illegals here in CA.
Anchor babies are just one of the ripples. But yes, I would count the cost of the anchor babies. However, since education can be seen as an investment, any child, undocumented or not, that graduates from our high schools/colleges should have to agree to stay in America.
dont forget cost in human lives!!! illegal alien dui drivers kill and mame american citizens far too often, illegal aliens rape and murder americans as well….majority of stolen autos in u.s. are stolen illegal aliens too!!…20 million illegal aliens have a drastic effect on the price of gasoline, apartments, food and electricity (law of supply and demand remember)….illegal aliens with tb, hiv and hepititis have ineffect americans too!! and don’t forget the cost of getting into an accident with an illegal alien driver (cost of auto repairs), and how american citizen children are short changed by larger classes in school due to influx of illegal alien anchor babies!! and the cost of tons and tons of cocaine and marajuana thay illegal aliens help smuggle into our country; many of whom carried the drugs over on their backs!!! and what of the acres of marajuana illegal aliens have planted in our national parks!!!……..and of course the samanila outbreaks that have sickened and killed americans…..the cost of illegal immigration far outweighs any benefits!!!
Marlena Munoz
You are absolutely right. Employers who hire illegal aliens have no thought in mind of saving you or I a single penny.
They don’t provide health insurance so that cost is passed on to the consumer. The increased “bottom line” profit that this “reporter” quotes businesses as saying is a benefit is the only thing they think about. I put reporter in quotes because Erin Carlyle is nothing but a shill for the open border crowd. The increase to the businesses bottom line is the only benefit of employing illegal aliens everything else is paid for by us.
Are we really supposed to believe that we’re being given some kind of super discount because illegal aliens are working for greedy employers? The key word here is greed.
Give me a break Carlyle. You can’t even come up with decent poll questions. Why not ask if the illegals and their children should be included in the cost to the economy as one of the choices. Of course that wouldn’t fit your agenda or the OCR’s now would it ?
Aside from the cost to our health care system there is also the cost of crime from gang bangers, a lifestyle with its seeds in the barrio. Educating these people’s children is a tremendous drain on the tax system and for the 50% of them who ultimately drop out a total waste of money. We have enough of our own dropouts we don’t need to import baby making machines to create more.
Wash your own car for a change; mow your own lawn; eat at home instead of patronizing establishments that hire illegals. Do things for yourself. It’s good exercise, and you’ll save us all a lot of money.
what a brainless poll
So much has been written and discussed about this problem but it seems that what the people want makes no difference, The officials are the deciders and it does not matter to them how it affects us. They have their special interests and that is much more important than the will of the people. As long as it is OK to declare cities “sanctuary cities” it does not matter that Federal Laws are being ignored, there are no repercussions for the officials, just for us, the taxpayers.
Connie (legal immigrant)
It is very obvious to the American people that many illegal migrants in California are having more children than they can afford. And we do not want to pay for that any longer. Basta.
Miguel~Yours was a very insightful and pertinent post which contained many truths that most people leave out when discussing the issue of illegal immigration—-the many contributions made by this much maligned group.To be fair, one should incude in any discussion the benefits as well as the drawbacks to the illegal immigrant topic.It is intellectually dishonest to do otherwise.
It is costing us our country.
That cheap labor, means one less job for an American.
Miguel, you are pretty much right. I do boycott anything I know may be profiting from unfair labor practices like the hiring of illegal aliens.
Even U.S manufacturers that have plants in Mexico that refuse to pay a fair wage to the workers in that country. Because lets face it if they dont get a decent wage there…..Yes all illegals that break our laws should be deported we agree on that for sure. and know what? that leaves no illegals in our country because everyone of them broke the law, now its only a matter of how many laws and to what degree….bring me your poor hudled mass’ well that’s frances stupid gift not America’s constitution.
mensarino Why don’ t you itemize, for us, all of the benefits illegals provide vs the cost of their upkeep in terms of health care and welfare and education for their children. How can any of these “benefits” possibly balance the ledger?
There’s nothing wrong with people coming here to work temporarily and then going home. The fact of the matter is that these people don’t want to go home when their done…they want to stay and raise a family that they can’t possibly support on what they make. So they then resort to collecting welfare which we stupidly allow since their children are considered citizens. Now you have these people collecting welfare and getting free health care through emergency room visits and the county hospitals; government paid prenatal and postnatal care; education costs; housing assistance. It costs California alone over 10 billion dollars to support these people.
The economy would collapse without illegals, people say. Well I can remember when there were few illegals and we got along just fine. The businesses these people are worried about collapsing are the ones that were built on the backs of illegals and the one that were built to service the needs of the illegals. So to that I say “Oh well”.
As far as Miguel’s complaint about spending money in Iraq rather than giving it to illegals, my suggestion is that Miguel send a letter to the IRS and ask them to take more money out of his check and ear-mark it for illegal alien use only.
In fact I think all of you who want our taxes raised to support these people should donate all of your own money to the cause first before you start asking for mine.
As a 30 plus year firefighter, engineer, and captain for Los Angeles County Fire Department, I have seen a major cost of illegal immigration. Emergency room after emergency room closures throughout the county of Los Angeles. Think about it! Because of the tremendous numbers of illegal immigrants flooding emergency rooms, you now have a transport time that has in many areas quadrupled. Your chances of surviving a heart attack, stroke, gunshot wound, or traumatic accident have been radically reduced. I have seen as much as 20 minutes added to travel time from the incident to an open emergency room.
According to experts, it is estimated that around 70 percent of our oxygen is produced by unicellular
algae in the ocean. Algae mostly live on the upper part of the ocean, close to sunlit areas,
where they can produce oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. In Oil spills, oil obstructs
the growth and germination of plankton, besides affecting the wildlife. The United States is still one
of the main oil producers in the world, although most people don’t know this. Oil production in the
U.S. has been declining steadily over the past decades, and this is not because of sanctions and regulations,
but simply because the reserves in the U.S. are dwindling. Even if we decided to drill near
every house and every bit of ocean waters in the U.S. where oil can be found, the remaining oil would not suffice
our current oil use for very long. The truth is, even if we drilled, oil prices would not go
down immediately. Furthermore, they wouldn’t go down for long, because sooner or later we would have
used those oil resources away too. If we continue using oil as our main source of energy, we
would eventually become dependent not just on the Middle East, but on countries like Russia
and dictatorships in Africa. We already have other sources of energy like windpower, solar energy, and
ethanol-based fuels. We have to start doing the transition from fossil fuel to these other sources
now, instead of waiting for expensive drilling in the ocean that will possibly destroy ecosystems and
damage our main sources of oxygen in the planet. Even if you don’t believe in global warming, you cannot
deny the oil spills, even minuscule ones like the ones produced when oil companies destroy the continental
shelf in search for oil, are damaging permanently to the marine wildlife. Furthermore, the development of
new resources of energy here in the United States would create not just thousands of jobs, but
millions of jobs around the country. Millions. If Bush had decided after 9/11 that
instead of a war that has costed trillions of dollars, we should have slowly switched from fossil to
alternative fuels, therefore thwarting our dependence on the Middle East, we could’ve crushed their economies, which
is a much more efficient way of winning a war than a costly occupation.
Thank you Gene Horner for adding an eyewitness account of the impact of illegal immigration.
Reporters can use all the propaganda they want to try and fool their readers but those of us on the street see the impact with our own eyes.The plain truth is that illegal immigration is the root cause of much of California’s fiscal and infrastructure woes.
We’ll see what the illegal immigrant supporters say when the state government does away with Prop 13 and raises the sales tax another penny on the dollar permanently. Prop 13 probably won’t be a big deal because most of these people don’t own property so they really have nothing to lose.
The cost of illegals being in America has a big effect on our economy, but at the same time most of the work done in our country is by these people coming from other countries. As far as crime I truelly believe a lot has to do with illegals commiting crimes and being able to go back to their countries, but the sad part is that a good number of Americans commit as many and maybe even worse crimes as those commited coming from Mexico or other countries. As far as welfare and schools being crowded I strongly believe that even though their children might be considered citizens we should really take a look at the whole situation. I’am 5th generation American with ancestors from Mexico and I dont agree on all the privileges they receive.
“Brian A Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Marlena Munoz
It’s ignorant of you to assume that business owners are pocketing the savings they realize by employing illegals. Those savings can very well be the difference between them staying in business and going under. If they didn’t pass on the savings then they wouldn’t be able to compete with other business. You are quick to call business owners greedy for accomplishing something that you never could. It’s called capitalism and this country was founded on it. And no I’m not a business owner. These people are coming here in search of a better life for their children and you’re concerned about the parking at your apartment.”
I’m afraid you’re the ignoramus Brian. Hiring illegals is not capitalism it is in fact a crime, and the employers who participate in that crime are in fact padding their own pockets with the labor savings. You say that these people simply come here for a better life and you’re okay with that well I’m not .
If they want a better life then they should develop some guts and make a better life in their own country. Or apply to come here legally.
America is nothing more than an easy way out for these people. They believe that if they can just get here and wash some cars and bus some tables pick a few strawberries that we should be eternally grateful and let them suck off of the government coffers all they like. Have as many babies as they can possibly have and demand that they be taken care of.
Brian I’m sure you are a property owner and probably have a good sized bank account so why don’t you open your doors to some of these people and support them like your asking me to. Take in a family of four and pay their health care costs that your good buddies the rich developers don’t pay and reimburse the school district for the cost of sending the little tykes to class. If the breadwinner doesn’t make enough working at minimum wage please help him out and buy his groceries for him. At the end of the year figure out the ratio of his income to the number of dependents he has and cut him a check for 3 thousand dollars because he doesn’t make enough. After a couple of years of doing that come back and tell me how your doing. I hope at that time your still celebrating your version of capitalism.
Quite frankly I couldn’t care less whether these people find a better life or not. Oh, and yes parking around my neighborhood is more important to me then whether these people eat. or not.
More has to be done were loosing more than Dollars !! LegalAmericanFolks.com
Illegal aliens pay no payroll and other taxes to State of California. They cost California much more on hospitals bills, medical, social services, education, and many unlisted items. Their children received medical, social services, education, and so forth up to 18 years. Make it short, illegal aliens increase California State budget deficit and reduce state revenue and they cost State and taxpayer’s money.
No only do they run up our med cost but they are rersponsioble for the closing of many many ER’s in SoCal.
Time life did a report a year or two ago. They stated that each Illegal cost each American taxpayer 1500 buck in taxes.
So these employers are using us to subsidize their work force. By paying them low wages and no bennies so Americans wont work the jobs for that pay then the Illegals make it up in state bennies that we pay for out of our taxes.
The white population is fed up we are no longer interested in raising a family in this Country
Injoy your future ,tax payers will have to come from some other Middle Class not our’s .
Look around at the white population if you can find it
Marlena Munoz, Your Right!
Most construction companies don’t pass on savings to there customers, they pocket it. This is not capitalism, its a felony to lie on your income taxes and not pay state health insurance on your workers. What you really have is a new kind of slave labor and that’s not capitalism.
I have done over $40,000 of work on my home in the two different projects. I got estimates from builders in the area that were doing almost the same thing in other homes, but I stayed with a local contractor with an American crew, because I saw his work in the neighborhood. My cost was about $300 more, less then 1% difference, but my walls were straight and everything was approved the first time.
I read the Rand report and then I entered illegal immigration and found that most of the report was written word for word in the early 1980’s and some in the late 1970’s. Sorry 13hm13. Nice try, but no cigar.
You aint be able to figure the cost of the inmigracion. You have it but choices. You either face the facts that you better learn Espanol muy rapido or you keep living the fantasy that you get rid of us. We aint leavin and you aint makin us go. Either give us the amnisitia, make it easy to immigrate or we come anyway amigos.
OTB, su vida esta minus de NADA y tu se NADA… your small little world will change faster and make your head spin… watch and stay tuned…
Every dollar paid to an illeagl alien is one less for an American.
Hey Miguel, when companies start labeling their products that are manufactured by illegals, I will gladly boycott those products. Don’t try to blame it on hardworking legal citizens because if given a choice, most would boycott those companies that use illegal labor. Our government obviously has its own agenda that includes letting illegal immigrants stay, otherwise the problem would be solved. If I were in charge, I’d announce that illegal immigrants have 30 days to get out….if they don’t and they are caught here, you put a Lojack-like microchip in them that cannot be removed…and let them know if they are ever caught here illegally, they will forever be eliminated from citizenship consideration. Problem solved.
All you US citizens complain about illegal immigration, but how many of you have actually done anything to stop this? Next to none of you!! You bitch and complain, but do you anonymously report illegal immigrants and their employers to INS? Until you do that, we illegals are gonna keep using your resources, invading your homeland and dragging it down to Mexico standards. And thank you, fat lazy Americans, for letting it happen.