Letter to the Editor: Cost of illegal immigration will balloon over amnesty

From Heritage, we learn that the average cost for an illegal alien household today, obtained by subtracting the amount in taxes they pay from the resources they consume, is $14,387, to be borne by the taxpayer.  Under current law, illegal alien households together have an aggregate annual deficit of around $54.5 billion.

FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) estimates that illegal immigration costs U.S. taxpayers about $113 billion a year. The bulk of the costs, some $84 billion, are borne by state and local governments. Education for the children of illegal aliens is the single largest cost, at an annual price tag of nearly $52 billion. California, with a budget deficit of $14.4 billion in 2010-2011 had an annual expenditure for illegal aliens of $21.8 billion.

The illegal amnesty decreed by President Obama and unfortunately not stopped by the hapless Republican Party would give illegal alien households access to over 80 means tested welfare programs, Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare. The fiscal costs to each household would rise dramatically, far and above what they already are.

Again citing Heritage, in 13 years, when illegal aliens are granted full access to welfare programs and Obamacare, the net draw would be about $28,000 per household. When illegal aliens retire and become eligible for Medicare and Social Security, the annual net fiscal deficit per retired recipient (not household) would be around $22,700. When illegal aliens become eligible for means-tested welfare benefits and Obamacare, the aggregate cost rises to $106 billion annually. In the retirement phase, the aggregate annual deficit for illegal alien households would soar to $160 billion per year.

It is an odd consortium of Democrats, country club Republicans along with ethnic militants, leftists, and business interests that support open borders while paying lip service to enforcement. The majority of Americans however recognize the danger of an America degraded into a bicultural state; they also recognize that we cannot long endure unlimited numbers of impoverished, low skilled immigrants from Latin America and elsewhere without paying a heavy price.

It is time for America to step out of the shadows.

Dr. Richard Moss
Jasper, Ind.