Record $135 billion a year for illegal immigration, average $8,075 each, $25,000 in NY
And despite claims from pro-illegal immigration advocates that the aliens pay significant off-setting taxes back to federal, state and local treasuries, the Federation for American Immigration Reform report tallied just $19 billion, making the final hit to taxpayers about $116 billion.
M-Bob
Hi MM,
Well, in reading over the article, I'd seriously question some of the 'facts' presented. Does anyone really believe that it costs $12,000/year to teach a non-english speaking child, just because they are non-english speaking? According to npr.org, it costs from $6,000 to $18,000 for the public school system to teach any student, depending on what state it is. Where does that money come from? Well, I can't speak for all states, but in SC where I now reside and Florida, where I lived for some 30 years, the revenue for schools comes primarily from property tax revenue. Where does property tax revenue come from? Well, as far as I know, every property parcel in the nation, except for some exemptions that can vary from state to state, pay annual property taxes. If, an illegal alien lives in a place where they are paying rent to a landlord or outright own a piece of property for their home, then they are paying for the teaching of their children.
About the only people for whom we would be giving their children a free education, would be some family living in a car or a tent. It is my understanding that most illegal aliens who have lived in the U.S. for more than 6 months, find a place to rent for their families or live with relatives who are paying property taxes towards the general school fund. As a landlord myself, I can attest that the amounts paid for property taxes on a rental property are actually paid by the tenant. It is figured in as a cost to the landlord of holding the property as a rental property.
Further, rental properties generally pay higher taxes than owner occupied homes and so there is a very, very good argument to be made that illegal aliens who are renting would actually be paying more in school education funds than someone who lives in a property that they own and is taxed as an owner occupant dwelling.
So, I'm certainly willing to consider that new immigrants, whether legal or illegal, may get off without paying their fair share of property taxes from which their local school is funded. However, once a family, and let's do remember that if we're talking about educating children then we're talking about a family coming across the border and not the thousands of individual men and women who cross the border looking for a better life or job for themselves, that family unit, as soon as they find a place to live, will be paying into the property tax pool from which education funds are derived.
I also would like to see how they arrived at the various totals. For example, are they saying that it costs $12,000 to educate a non-english speaking child and simply multiplying the total number of estimated illegal aliens by that $12,000 to arrive at some astronomical number? Or, are they actually making some attempt to determine how many illegal aliens have children that are enrolled in our school system once they cross the border and then multiplying that much lower number by $12,000. Finally, not all children who come across the border illegally are non-english speaking. Children often have an amazing ability to learn languages quickly, much faster than most adults. I would imagine that even most children who can't speak english when they cross the border will learn the language within their first year, or two at most, of being in an english speaking education system. After they learn english, then they wouldn't cost $12,000 to educate because of their lack of knowledge of the english language.
As is often the case in any attempt of an organization to present an argument for a certain position, an organization titled 'Federation for American Immigration Reform' is likely to only show the side of the argument that supports their position. Generally, the truth is found somewhere in the middle of such arguments. Wiki identifies the organization thusly: The Federation for American Immigration Reform is a non-profit tax exempt organization in the United States that self-identifies as an organization seeking to reduce both legal and illegal immigration.
Notice that it is their intent to reduce both legal and illegal immigration. For an organization with such a motive, using facts that don't support their position wouldn't be in their best interests.
God bless,
In Christ, ted