A recent House Homeland Security Committee report sheds light on the escalating crisis at the southern border, projecting a potential annual burden of hundreds of billions of dollars on taxpayers.
The report, the committee’s fourth interim assessment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ handling of the border crisis, delves into the fiscal repercussions linked to the administration’s policies. According to the report, only a fraction of these costs is offset by taxes paid by illegal aliens, leaving the majority to be shouldered by American citizens and lawful residents.
Mass illegal immigration, fueled by Mayorkas’ open-border approach, is now a substantial financial burden on both federal and state governments, as well as the wallets of private citizens and businesses. Drawing on studies from the Center for Immigration Studies and the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the report estimates annual costs for the care and housing of illegal immigrants ranging from $150 billion to a staggering $451 billion.
The report emphasizes various cost factors, including healthcare expenses, law enforcement costs, and education costs for illegal alien children. It also highlights the significant financial toll on cities like New York, where many migrants have settled, with Mayor Eric Adams estimating a potential crisis cost of $12 billion by 2025.
It is morally unacceptable for American taxpayer dollars to be forced to fund those violating our laws and demanding taxpayer-funded benefits. It raises concerns about the long-term drain on American society by individuals who may continuously absorb more benefits than they contribute.
Blaming Mayorkas’ policies for enabling waste and abuse of taxpayer resources, the report accuses the Department of Homeland Security of releasing millions of illegal aliens into the United States instead of adhering to legal requirements for detention or removal.
The DHS emphasizes Mayorkas’ efforts to enhance national security, combat the entry of fentanyl, address threats from the Chinese government, assist communities after natural disasters, and safeguard against cyberattacks, terrorism, and targeted violence. Much of this isn’t happening, and fentanyl is still flooding through our southern border.
Despite the report’s critique, Democrats on the committee dismiss the notion that immigrants are a financial burden, labeling it a “bald-faced lie” debunked by experts from both sides of the political spectrum for decades. This is simply untrue, and American taxpayers are put in an awful position to front the bill for illegal aliens. We cannot countenance subsidizing millions who have no right to be here when our own citizens are suffering under a faltering economy and a massively-increased cost of living. Eliminating these subsidies would not only save the American taxpayer significant costs, but eliminate incentives driving illegal immigration.