New Report Reveals Cost of Public Education for Unaccompanied Alien Minors to Florida Taxpayers

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Sep 02, 2014, 12:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to the recent border surge of unaccompanied illegal alien minors entering the U.S. along its southern border, the federal government has transferred more than 37,000 to states across the country. That impact is now being felt in school districts throughout Florida. A new report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) shows that Florida state school districts and taxpayers are incurring substantial costs and shouldering a disproportionate share of the national burden.

Key findings of the research report, Estimated Cost of K-12 Public Education for Unaccompanied Alien Children, include:

3,733 unaccompanied illegal alien minors are estimated to have enrolled in K-12 public education in Florida.
While the average annual cost of educating each child in Florida is approximately $8,691, the costs skyrocket to $15,209 for each unaccompanied illegal alien minor.
Thus, Florida taxpayers are incurring an additional $56,773,589 annual cost on top of the $3.66 billion they currently pay each year for educating illegal alien children, and the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens.
The total cost of K-12 education for unaccompanied minors spread across 50 states is $761,405,907, yet ten states including Florida incur the vast majority - 80 percent - of the national costs.

"Obama's refusal to secure the border and enforce the law combined with his unwillingness to allow states to participate in immigration enforcement has created a massive unfunded mandate and unanticipated costs to school districts across the country," said Dan Stein, President of FAIR. "School districts are scrambling to maintain minimum standards with limited resources yet this administration's enforcement policy appears to be, 'we won't-you can't, but you pay'."

"Tens of thousands of additional illegal alien minors – many with limited English skills, no financial support and extraordinary needs – are straining the resources of jurisdictions burdened by tens of thousands of illegal aliens children already enrolled," Stein continued.

"The crisis and costs could have been prevented if the administration had been enforcing our immigration laws and the recent surge could be slowed and reversed if the Senate would pass the House border bill allowing changes in the law so that illegal alien minors could be expeditiously returned."

The full research report along with a map showing costs is available here.

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SOURCE FAIR