FAIR: Illegal Immigration Costs California Taxpayers Nearly $31 Billion a Year

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mass illegal immigration and misguided state policies that provide illegal alien with benefits and services now cost California's shrinking tax base nearly $31 billion a year, according to a newly-released cost analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

The report, The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers, pegs the combined federal, state and local costs associated with illegal immigration at $182 billion annually. Thus, state and local taxes paid by Californians (not including their federal tax payments) account for one-sixth of the nationwide costs associated with illegal immigration. These costs include K-12 education, indigent medical care, housing and nutrition assistance. California also provides other costly benefits for illegal aliens such as in-state tuition at public colleges and universities, health coverage under the state's Medi-Cal program, and sweeping sanctuary policies that shield illegal aliens from identification and removal.

According to the report, benefits and services provided to the estimated 3.23 million illegal aliens in California cost local taxpayers $22.8 billion annually. Factoring in about 1.15 million U.S.-born children of illegal aliens adds more than another $8 billion in costs.

Among the key findings of The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers:

• Benefits and services provided to illegal aliens in California in 2022 amounted to $22,821,903,942.
• An additional $8,114,297,526 was expended on U.S.-born children of illegal aliens.
• The total cost of $30,936,201,468 works out to a per capita cost of $7,074.

"The $22.8 billion California spends on benefits and services to illegal aliens is almost exactly equal to the projected $22.5 billion budget shortfall the state faces this year," noted Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "While Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have cut spending by 3.6 percent to close the budget gap, the state continues to expand benefits to illegal aliens. Just last fall, Gov. Newsom signed a bill expanding low- or no-cost Medi-Cal benefits to illegal aliens, while new proposals are being considered to offer cash assistance to elderly illegal aliens.

"The federal government's failure to secure our borders and remove people who are here illegally have imposed unfair burdens on taxpayers in all 50 states. But California's own policies bear significant responsibility for the state's disproportional share of the burden -- $31 billion a year, and growing," Stein concluded.

The full report can be read here.

Contact: Ron Kovach, 202-328-7004 or [email protected].

ABOUT FAIR  
 
Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)