FAIR: Illegal Immigration Costs Florida Taxpayers More than $8 Billion a Year

News provided by

Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Mar 08, 2023, 14:58 ET

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Long-term illegal immigration, exacerbated by two years of unprecedented border chaos under the Biden administration, now costs Florida taxpayers more than $8 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. Only California and Texas absorb a larger share of the cost burdens of illegal immigration. The costs incurred by Florida taxpayers include K-12 education, indigent medical care, housing and nutrition assistance. In addition, Florida provides other costly benefits for illegal aliens such as in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

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

Benefits and services provided to 1.19 million illegal aliens residing in Florida in 2022 amounted to $5,972,788,206.
An additional $2,066,534,316 was expended on an estimated 610,000 U.S.-born children of illegal aliens.
The total cost of $8,039,322,522 works out to a per capita cost of $5,040.

"Floridians continue to bear a disproportionate burden resulting from large-scale illegal immigration, that has been made much worse by the Biden administration's policies," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "Gov. Ron DeSantis has been at the vanguard of state and local officials attempting to protect the interests of the people of his state, including passage of legislation to transport migrants out of state.

"With the convening of the Florida Legislature this week, DeSantis and state lawmakers have a unique opportunity to enact more meaningful measures to shield Florida taxpayers from these staggering costs of illegal immigration. The $8.04 billion price tag, documented in this report, should spur legislative action to require all Florida employers to use E-Verify, repeal in-state tuition subsidies for illegal aliens, bar local governments from issuing IDs to illegal aliens, and crackdown on heinous criminal organizations that smuggle and traffic migrants.

"While the Biden administration and sanctuary states continue to promote policies that heap even greater burdens on taxpayers, Florida has a chance to demonstrate that illegal immigration can be discouraged and that costs can be reduced to the benefit of legal residents of the state. An $8 billion a year price tag is simply unsustainable," 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)