Documented America: The i Word -- Legal and Illegal Immigration in the USA

Facts Regarding Illegal Immigration in the United States

Current U.S. population: 298 Million[1]
Estimated number of current illegal aliens: 12-20Million.[2]

According to the United States government an immigrant is "An alien who has been granted the right by the USCIS to reside permanently in the United States and to work without restrictions in the United States."[3] An "immigrant is thus defined by the government to only include persons legally residing in the United States. Consequently, 'illegal immigrant' is a contradiction in terms and a misnomer. The correct term is "illegal alien" or "undocumented alien.") [4]

Census 2000 results indicate that 1,000,000 illegal aliens settled in the U.S. that year.[5]

Census Bureau’s projection of U.S. population in 2050 because of mass immigration is 404 million at the mid range of estimates.[6]

The projected House Bill would cost 1.9 Billion dollars over 5 years. Costs would include Securing our ports, borders and agents. This figure is less than half of one percent of the total cost for the current war in Iraq.[7]

The proposed projected Senate Bill would cost 54 Billion dollars over 10 years. Costs would include Medicare, Social Security, and Food Stamps for those who qualified for government assistance.

Illegal aliens depress wages for U.S. workers by as much as $200 Billion a year in addition to placing a tremendous burden on hospitals, schools and other social services.[8]

In fact, a meat-packing job paid $19 an hour in 1980, but today that same job pays closer to $9 an hour, according to the Labor Department.[9]

On a $1 head of lettuce, the farmer gets about 18 cents, and the cost of wages and benefits is about six cents. [10] If immigration reform severely restricts the labor pool, wages could go from their current average of $9.50/hr up to $14.50/hr, [11] potentially increasing the cost of that head of lettuce by just 3-10 cents. Because the cost of farm labor is such a small percentage of the overall cost of produce, the food bill for fresh fruits and vegetables would increase by less than $10 a year for the average family.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition funded a study in 2000 that found the 24 counties adjacent to the Mexican border spent $190 million to provide emergency care to undocumented immigrants that year. Of all the border states, California spent the most treating undocumented immigrants with unreimbursed expenditures at $79 million. Texas came in second with $74 million, Arizona at third with $31 million and New Mexico fourth with $6 million.[12]

Federal law mandates hospitals treat anyone requiring emergency care and prohibits a patient being denied treatment on the basis they cannot afford to pay. The $1 billion in the Medicare bill marked the first time the federal government made money available to hospitals to reimburse their costs incurred by treating undocumented immigrants.[13]

LA county spent about $350 million in 2002 providing health care to illegal aliens, the Department of Health Services said. Massive health cuts, including the closure of 16 health clinics and possibly two hospitals, as well as slashes in services, could have been avoided if that money was available for other uses, officials said. They estimated the amount of money spent on illegal aliens last year using a formula based on how many illegals they believe live in the county and how many doctor and hospital visits were not reimbursed.[14]

Without illegal aliens Hospital emergency rooms across the southwest would have about 20-percent fewer patients, and there would be 183,000 fewer people in Colorado without health insurance. [15]

Without illegal aliens OBGYN wards in Denver would have 24-percent fewer deliveries, maternity-ward deliveries in Los Angeles would drop by 40 percent and maternity billings to Medi-Cal would drop by 66 percent. [16]

Without illegal aliens Youth gangs would see their membership drop by 50 percent in many states, and in Phoenix, child-molestation cases would drop by 34 percent and auto theft by 40 percent.[17]

Analysis of the latest Census data indicates that California's illegal alien population is costing the state's taxpayers more than $10.5 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. Deducting the estimated tax contributions from illegal aliens, the net cost to legal taxpayers is still nearly $9 billion. [18]

Based on estimates of the illegal alien population in California and documented costs of K-12 schooling, Californians spend approximately $7.7 billion annually on education for illegal alien children and for their U.S.-born siblings. Nearly 15 percent, or one out of every 7 of the K-12 public school students in California are children of illegal aliens. [19]

Analysis of the latest Census data indicates that Arizona’s illegal alien population is costing the state’s taxpayers about $1.3 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. [20]

The annual fiscal burden of illegal immigrants borne by Arizonans amounts to more than $700 per household headed by a native-born resident. [21]
In California, that figure is estimated to be $1,183. [22]

Based on estimates of the illegal alien population in Arizona and documented costs of K-12 schooling, Arizonans spend approximately $820 million annually on education for illegal alien children and for their U.S.-born siblings. [23]

Colorado taxpayers would save almost $3,000,000 in one day if illegal aliens did not access any public services, because illegal aliens cost the state over $1 billion annually according to the best estimates. [24]

Colorado's K-12 school classrooms would have 131,000 fewer students without illegal aliens and their, and Denver high schools' dropout rate would once again approach the national norm[25]

Facts regarding the proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA) [26]

The original CIRA would have allowed as many as 100 million people to legally immigrate to the United States over the next 20 years. For comparison, the total current population of the United States is under 300 million.

Facing criticism, the Senate amended the bill - which now, if enacted, would "only" allow around 66 million new immigrants. Current law would let 19 million legal immigrants enter the United States over the next 20 years; CIRA would add an extra 47 million. This more than doubles the rate from 1 million a year now to 2.5 million per year.

When a nation sets immigration policy, it must do two things. First, it must determine the number of foreign individuals it wishes to admit, and second, it must determine the skill levels and other characteristics of those it chooses to admit. In selecting the number and type of permanent immigrants entering the country, the government determines, to an extent, the future of the country.[27]

Comparison of estimated fiscal costs for controlling Illegal immigration vs. the war in Iraq:[28] Below is a sample of homeland security items in the FY2007 Budget, their estimated costs, and the time it takes the Pentagon to burn through the same amount in Iraq. These figures provide a context for comparing such large budget amounts:

Homeland Security items in            Time taken to spend the
    FY 2007 budget                 same amount in the Iraq War

1,500 new Border Patrol agents:
$459 million ($306,000 per agent)...........1.9 DAYS

An additional 6,700 Detention Bed Spaces
to replace "catch and release with a
"catch and return policy:
$410 million................................1.7 DAYS

An enhanced Worksite Enforcement program
to "send a strong deterrence message to
employers who knowingly hire illegal workers":
$41.7 million...............................4.2 HOURS

Cost to fence off the entire southern border
(1,891 miles @ $1.7million/mile):
     $3.3 billion...............................13.8 DAYS

America welcomes more immigrants than any other country. But in keeping open that door of opportunity, we also must uphold the rule of law and enhance a fair immigration process, as Ronald Reagan said, to "humanely regain control of our borders and thereby preserve the value of one of the most sacred possessions of our people: American citizenship."[29]

References:
[1] http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html June 11, 2006
[2] http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer
[3] http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=129236,00.html
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States
[5] http://www.numbersusa.com/interests/amnesty.html
[6] http://www.numbersusa.com
[7] http://costofwar.com/numbers.html
[8] http://www.ncpa.org/newdpd/dpdarticle.php?article_id=3269
[9] http://www.cnn.com/206/us/05/01/dobbs.immigrantsprotests
[10] http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/05/ldt.01.html
[11] http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/28/smbusiness/immigration_reform_prices/index.htm
[12] http://www.amren.com/news/news04/01/27/rorabacher.html
[13] http://www.amren.com/news/news04/01/27/rorabacher.html
[14] http://cbs2.com/health/healthla_story_132162016.html
[15] http://www.ncpa.org/newdpd/dpdarticle.php?article_id=3269
[16] http://www.ncpa.org/newdpd/dpdarticle.php?article_id=3269
[17] http://www.ncpa.org/newdpd/dpdarticle.php?article_id=3269
[18] http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecentersffec
[19] http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecentersffec
[20] http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenters5e3f
[21] http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenters5e3f
[22] http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecentersffec
[23] http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenters5e3f
[24] http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3774613
[25] http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3774613
[26] http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed052006a.cfm
[27] http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/wm1109.cfm
[28] http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=1651
[29] http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed052406a.cfm