An ongoing border crisis that saw 5,000 illegal aliens being released into the United States per day in December of last year is a microcosm of a much larger issue as President Joe Biden aims to recapture the White House in a crucial election year.
The issue is a $150.7 billion one, shared between federal and state governments, and that's just one year.
Since the inauguration of President Biden on January 20, 2021, over 3.3 million illegal immigrants have been released into the U.S., according to the Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, which is costing taxpayers billions at the federal and state levels.
A report issued by the committee in mid-January says that the Biden administration has, among other things, "dismantled interior immigration enforcement to allow illegal aliens to remain in the country," which is contributing to a growing cost borne by U.S. taxpayers. A separate study issued by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) quantified the monetary side of that burden.
Newsweek has reached out to the Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement by email for comment on Friday.
The FAIR study, released in March last year, documented the financial toll of illegal immigration on the U.S., taking into account factors like emergency medical care, incarcerating illegal aliens in local jails, and federal budgets that pay out billions in welfare every year, pegging the net annual cost at $150.7 billion.
Arriving at the figure by subtracting the estimated $32 billion of tax contributions made by illegal immigrants, FAIR said the economic impact would have otherwise been $182 billion. In 2017, the U.S. spent roughly $116 billion on illegal immigration, suggesting that the problem is a growing one.
To contextualize the number, the $150.7 billion spent on illegal immigration last year is more than the total gross domestic product (GDP) of Mississippi ($146.7 billion in 2023), New Mexico ($131.5 billion), Idaho ($119.8 billion), and is more than the GDP's Wyoming and Vermont combined, at $50.74 billion and $43.38 billion, respectively.
With illegal immigration now costing $150.7 billion annually, the burden inevitably trickles down to the taxpayer. Individually, the FAIR study found that each illegal alien or their U.S.-born child costs the U.S. $8,776 annually.
Of the $8,776, each American taxpayer is paying roughly $1,156 per year, FAIR found, or about $957 each after factoring in the taxes paid by illegal aliens.
The report issued by the Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement said that starting from Biden's inauguration, nearly 6 million illegal alien encounters occurred, with the 3.3 million individuals mentioned earlier having no confirmed departure from the U.S. as of September 30 of last year.
Additionally, the report details the presence of over 617,607 non-detained aliens with criminal records within U.S. communities, pointing to a concerning trend in immigration enforcement and the release policies under the current administration.
The figure marks a sharp increase in just six months, the committee said, and does not account for the record encounters from October to December at the southwest border that has caused tension between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration.
Eagle Pass, Texas, has become a focal point in the intense standoff between Texas and the Biden admin over border control strategies, with Governor Abbott leveraging the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard, initiating Operation Lone Star to enforce border security.
The confrontation reached a peak when Texas authorities, under Abbott's directive, obstructed federal Border Patrol access to key areas for migrant processing and surveillance, notably Shelby Park. The move, aimed at strengthening border enforcement, led to heightened tensions, legal disputes, and tragic incidents, such as the drowning of migrants in the Rio Grande, Newsweek previously reported.
The Lone Star operation, launched in 2021 and began cracking down in November of last year, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of migrant apprehensions and drug seizures, according to Governor Abbott's latest press release, pointing to Texas' approach to managing border crossings and the smuggling of drugs and people.
Newsweek has reached out to Governor Abbott's office for comment by email on Friday afternoon.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aj Fabino is a Newsweek reporter based in Chicago. His focus is reporting on Economy & Finance. Aj joined Newsweek ... Read more
