Yesterday, President Barack Obama addressed a group of Hispanics at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference to renew talks about Immigration Reform, but stopped short of giving a definitive timetable to get it done.
While the argument on how to best fix the problem seems to be the biggest obstacle, there is no doubt that the problem has played a major role in the economic downturn, increase in crime and prison overpopulation that many states are facing today in particular California, Arizona and other border states.
I want to point out the story that for the most part goes under reported or ignored by the Lame Street Media. We all have heard of the stories and have been constantly bombarded with reports of an individual illegal alien that has done what most legal immigrants do: work hard and succeed. However, what they intentionally leave out are the negative aspects of illegal immigration. I feel that it is crucial that Americans become more aware of the negative impact of illegal aliens on your daily lives that you might not be aware of.
One of the biggest impacts of illegal immigration has been on our economy and the massive social costs to our society. Some reports conducted on the dollar cost to American taxpayers, have the total at over half a Trillon dollars annually with no end in sight. The National Academy of Sciences estimated that each immigrant will result in a $100,000 net annual cost to taxpayers.
Some of the other strains on our economy include the following:
· The loss of over $190 million annually per year for uncompensated health care from illegal immigrants
· Housing of 19% of Federal inmate population .
· Millions of High School Drop outs causing unsustainable increases in Education Spending & welfare costs.
· 12% of 10 million or so Los Angeles County residents are illegal immigrants which tap the system for billions in Social Services each year.
· 30% of public health care patients in the US are immigrants. No doubt adding to increase in Health insurance premiums.
The impact of this massive drain on our economy is potentially catastrophic and as Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said "illegal immigration tears at the moral and economic fabric of the country." One point to remember also is that once illegal immigrants become citizens they can bring family members into the country, straining education and health care budgets even more. Granting Amnesty to the more than 12 million or more illegal immigrants in this country amounts to nothing more than the largest expansion of the welfare system in over 30 years. And if this isn’t enough, the Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration (Jo Anne Barnhart) and her Mexican counterpart concluded the U.S.-Mexican Totalization Agreement would allow illegal aliens working in the U.S. to qualify for Social Security benefits with as few as six coverage credits, as opposed to the 40 now required of American workers. Estimates of the SSA are that by 2050 only 300,000 Mexican workers in the U.S. would be in the system at a cost projection of $650 million annually.
Steven Camarota notes in a Judicial Watch Special Report, New Fronts in the Immigration Battle:
"All the research suggests that the reason illegal aliens create large fiscal [deficits] for the country is not their legal status, but rather their educational attainment. Sixty percent of illegals are thought not to have even a high school education, another twenty percent, a high school education only. All the research suggests that people with relatively little education make relatively little money in the modern American economy ...[As] a consequence, they tend to pay relatively little in taxes, even if they are legal and on the books.
At the same time, [these individuals] tend to use a fair amount in public services, reflecting their lower incomes. I estimate illegals pay about $16 billion a year to the Federal Government in taxes ... the difference between what they pay in taxes and use in services is about $10 billion. So right now the net drain on the Federal Government alone from illegal families is about $10 billion. If we began to legalize [these individuals] and they began to pay taxes and use services like legal immigrants with the same level of education, the net fiscal drain would roughly triple to nearly $30 billion."
In any case, when you add up all the direct and indirect costs it would not surprise me if the amount exceeded $100 billion, per year. If the data for the costs of crime is correct, and the traffic accidents participation turns out to be as great as some indicators point to, then the number could easily exceed $200 billion. Using the $200 billion figure and 300,000,000 million people in the US, that would be $667 for every person in the United States. However only 136,000,000 file taxes, and of those about 44,000,000 pay no taxes leaving about 92,000,000 actual taxpayers. For them, illegal immigration could be costing each taxpayer about $2,174 each. In states with high percentages orconcentrations of illegal aliens the amount is even higher.At $2,174, that amount would buy a head of $5.96 per head of lettuce every day of the year. What could you do with an extra $2,174? So much for a "victimless crime."
However, regardless of the economic costs, how can you put a cost on the Americans being molested, raped, killed, and murdered by illegal aliens?
WHY COME TO THE UNITED STATES?
While the argument on how to best fix the problem seems to be the biggest obstacle, there is no doubt that the problem has played a major role in the economic downturn, increase in crime and prison overpopulation that many states are facing today in particular California, Arizona and other border states.
I want to point out the story that for the most part goes under reported or ignored by the Lame Street Media. We all have heard of the stories and have been constantly bombarded with reports of an individual illegal alien that has done what most legal immigrants do: work hard and succeed. However, what they intentionally leave out are the negative aspects of illegal immigration. I feel that it is crucial that Americans become more aware of the negative impact of illegal aliens on your daily lives that you might not be aware of.
One of the biggest impacts of illegal immigration has been on our economy and the massive social costs to our society. Some reports conducted on the dollar cost to American taxpayers, have the total at over half a Trillon dollars annually with no end in sight. The National Academy of Sciences estimated that each immigrant will result in a $100,000 net annual cost to taxpayers.
Some of the other strains on our economy include the following:
· The loss of over $190 million annually per year for uncompensated health care from illegal immigrants
· Housing of 19% of Federal inmate population .
· Millions of High School Drop outs causing unsustainable increases in Education Spending & welfare costs.
· 12% of 10 million or so Los Angeles County residents are illegal immigrants which tap the system for billions in Social Services each year.
· 30% of public health care patients in the US are immigrants. No doubt adding to increase in Health insurance premiums.
The impact of this massive drain on our economy is potentially catastrophic and as Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said "illegal immigration tears at the moral and economic fabric of the country." One point to remember also is that once illegal immigrants become citizens they can bring family members into the country, straining education and health care budgets even more. Granting Amnesty to the more than 12 million or more illegal immigrants in this country amounts to nothing more than the largest expansion of the welfare system in over 30 years. And if this isn’t enough, the Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration (Jo Anne Barnhart) and her Mexican counterpart concluded the U.S.-Mexican Totalization Agreement would allow illegal aliens working in the U.S. to qualify for Social Security benefits with as few as six coverage credits, as opposed to the 40 now required of American workers. Estimates of the SSA are that by 2050 only 300,000 Mexican workers in the U.S. would be in the system at a cost projection of $650 million annually.
Steven Camarota notes in a Judicial Watch Special Report, New Fronts in the Immigration Battle:
"All the research suggests that the reason illegal aliens create large fiscal [deficits] for the country is not their legal status, but rather their educational attainment. Sixty percent of illegals are thought not to have even a high school education, another twenty percent, a high school education only. All the research suggests that people with relatively little education make relatively little money in the modern American economy ...[As] a consequence, they tend to pay relatively little in taxes, even if they are legal and on the books.
At the same time, [these individuals] tend to use a fair amount in public services, reflecting their lower incomes. I estimate illegals pay about $16 billion a year to the Federal Government in taxes ... the difference between what they pay in taxes and use in services is about $10 billion. So right now the net drain on the Federal Government alone from illegal families is about $10 billion. If we began to legalize [these individuals] and they began to pay taxes and use services like legal immigrants with the same level of education, the net fiscal drain would roughly triple to nearly $30 billion."
In any case, when you add up all the direct and indirect costs it would not surprise me if the amount exceeded $100 billion, per year. If the data for the costs of crime is correct, and the traffic accidents participation turns out to be as great as some indicators point to, then the number could easily exceed $200 billion. Using the $200 billion figure and 300,000,000 million people in the US, that would be $667 for every person in the United States. However only 136,000,000 file taxes, and of those about 44,000,000 pay no taxes leaving about 92,000,000 actual taxpayers. For them, illegal immigration could be costing each taxpayer about $2,174 each. In states with high percentages orconcentrations of illegal aliens the amount is even higher.At $2,174, that amount would buy a head of $5.96 per head of lettuce every day of the year. What could you do with an extra $2,174? So much for a "victimless crime."
However, regardless of the economic costs, how can you put a cost on the Americans being molested, raped, killed, and murdered by illegal aliens?
WHY COME TO THE UNITED STATES?
One can understand why Mexicans, the largest component of illegal aliens, come to the U.S. In Mexico, they are typically paid only $5.00 per day or less for their labor. When wages for Mexican workers rise, the peso is conveniently devalued to keep Mexico competitive with foreign countries like China and India. The owners of Mexican businesses often keep their money in dollars in American banks and escape the devaluation of their currency. Between that and the thoroughly incompetent government, the common people are forever doomed to poverty. Without a revolution in Mexico, America is their only hope. Unfortunately, the results of revolutions in countries to our south generally are not good.
At this point it is worth noting that Mexico is not a resource-poor country. Mile for mile, it has natural resources that are among the richest in the world and it is a net exporter of oil. It is, however, a corrupt country which is one of the main reasons why there are so many poor people wanting to flee to the USA for economic opportunities. However, just being poor or wanting to come here is not a valid reason to violate the national sovereignty of the United States. If so, most of the world would be here. While we already devote considerable resources to our resident poor, the USA does not have the resources for all the world's poor.An article in the San Francisco Chronicle stated that Mexicans living in the U.S. send between $6 and $8 billion back to their families every year, making them the third-biggest legitimate force in the Mexican economy, after oil and tourism. Additionally, US taxpayers pay for all the direct and indirect costs of "housing" the Mexican illegal aliens. In essence, it's an unofficial form of foreign aide. Mexico isn't about to control its borders, since Mexicans fleeing their country for work in the U.S. send plenty of money back to their own country.
Should Americans be asked to dole out more of their tax dollars to support illegal immigration? Should America shut it’s borders. Should other countries contribute and provide aid to support those coming across our borders illegally?
SOLUTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
A real temporary worker program should be used as a helpful tool for improving the legal means by which foreigners can fill important niches in the national workforce. A program is necessary that does not exacerbate illegal entry, and should include enforcement of the temporary nature of the program.
Immigration reform will require a sustained, incremental effort to secure the border, improvements in the legal worker programs, and support for economic development in Latin America. Internal enforcement is the only mechanism that can discourage illegal immigration and persuade future migrants and employers to use the available legal avenues. This will not be feasible without methodical enforcement that brings legitimacy back to U.S. immigration law, a quota that meets employer needs, and a fast-track system for applications.
Improved border security should be a priority and will definitely help stem the flow until either border fence is constructed or the Mexican government takes more responsibility for illegal immigration on their end. It is critical to ensure that the Border Patrol receives the resources it needs for training and recruiting. President Obama's initial actions on border security are largely consistent with those of President Bush. The challenges for Obama will come when the economy improves and the industries that hire large numbers of illegal immigrants increase the incentives for illegal immigrants to cross the border
Congress established the VWP to strengthen America's relationship with key allies around the globe. Recent reforms have made the program a better tool for thwarting terrorist and criminal travel as well as for combating violations of U.S. immigration laws. Congress should transfer permanent waiver authority to DHS and decouple VWP from the biometric air-exit mandate.
Ultimately, the US will no doubt bear the brunt of this exodus from Mexico into and across our borders. We have to take strong measures and put more of the burden on Mexico to alleviate this problem. They have to do a better job of uplifting their economy by creating more jobs and educating their populace. At this pace, the potential for another 25-30 million illegal immigrants coming onto this country will undoubtedly have a negative and catastrophic impact on our way of life which may be irreversible.
Again, you will not hear about any of this from the Lame Street Media. Anyone that is a law abiding citizen of this country and plays by the rules, should be aware of the many that are not and sucking the blood out of this great country of ours.
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