The following is a summary of our cost study findings. To access our full report, including state-specific information, click here or on bottom of article.
Key Highlights
- At the start of 2023, the net cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels – was at least $150.7 billion.
- FAIR arrived at this number by subtracting the tax revenue paid by illegal aliens – just under $32 billion – from the gross negative economic impact of illegal immigration, $182 billion.
- In 2017, the estimated net cost of illegal migration was approximately $116 billion. In just 5 years, the cost to Americans has increased by nearly $35 billion.
- Illegal immigration costs each American taxpayer $1,156 per year ($957 after factoring in taxes paid by illegal aliens).
- Each illegal alien or U.S.-born child of illegal aliens costs the U.S. $8,776 annually.
- Evidence shows that tax payments by illegal aliens cover only around a sixth of the costs they create at all levels in this country.
- A large percentage of illegal aliens who work in the underground economy frequently avoid paying any income tax at all.
- Many illegal aliens actually receive a net cash profit through refundable tax credit programs.
Introduction
This cost study report is currently the only comprehensive examination of the financial impact of illegal immigration in the United States. Every day, hundreds of millions of dollars in American taxpayer money are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration. Only a small fraction of these costs is ever recouped from taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and legal immigrants.
Our aim in this report is to show the American people the fiscal burden of illegal immigration at every level and across nearly all aspects of life. These costs range from emergency medical care to in-state tuition; from incarcerating illegal aliens in local jails to federal budgets that pay out billions in welfare every year. Because there are so many different ways that money is spent on illegal aliens at both the state and local levels, the information in our report is otherwise hard to find (or even intentionally hidden). This report supersedes FAIR’s 2017 cost study and highlights massive increases in spending related to illegal immigration that were implemented while American citizens deal with an uncertain economy.
The Number of Illegal Immigrants in the US
Estimating the fiscal burden of illegal immigration on the U.S. taxpayer depends on the size and characteristics of the illegal alien population. FAIR defines “illegal alien” as anyone who entered the United States without authorization or anyone who unlawfully remains once his/her authorization has expired. Unfortunately, the U.S. government has no central database containing information on the citizenship status of everyone lawfully present in the United States.
The overall problem of estimating the illegal alien population is further complicated by the fact that the majority of available sources on immigration status rely on self-reported data. Given that illegal aliens have a motive to lie about their immigration status in order to avoid discovery, the accuracy of these statistics is dubious at best. All of the foregoing issues make it very difficult to assess the current illegal alien population of the United States.
However, FAIR now estimates that there were at least 15.5 million illegal alien residents as of the beginning of 2022. This estimate takes into account drastic, ongoing increases in illegal immigration under the Biden administration. This estimate also includes some categories of individuals without legal status, like DACA recipients and parolees, who are illegal aliens under law but misleadingly excluded from many estimates. For more information on how we reached this figure, refer to the FAIR study “How Many Illegal Aliens Live in the United States?”
The Cost of Illegal Immigration to the United States
At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $182 billion to cover the costs incurred from the presence of more than 15.5 million illegal aliens, and about 5.4 million citizen children of illegal aliens. That amounts to a cost burden of approximately $8,776 per illegal alien/citizen child. The burden of illegal immigration on U.S. taxpayers is both staggering and crippling, with the gross cost per taxpayer at $1,156 every year.
Illegal aliens only contribute roughly $32 billion in taxes at the state, local, and federal levels. This means that the net fiscal cost of illegal immigration to taxpayers totals approximately $150.7 billion.
In 2017, FAIR estimated the net cost of illegal immigration at approximately $116 billion. This means that in just 5 years, the cost of illegal immigration has increased by nearly $35 billion. This rapid increase is a consequence of the ongoing border crisis and a lack of effective immigration enforcement. The sections below further break down and explain these numbers at the federal, state, and local levels.
Report by FAIR Research
Read Full Cost Study on FAIRUS.org
The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers | 2023 Cost Study
