To alleviate the strains of illegal immigration on border cities, President Trump has threatened to fly illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities that have thumbed their noses at enforcing federal law. Mayors have proudly showcased their cities as havens for illegals despite the hefty price tag falling on their constituents.
Despite the seeming façade of good will extended by these good-hearted mayors, it appears implausible and inconsistent that these same elected city officials have seemed to express violent opposition to the President’s offer to fly in these “poor souls.” The obvious hypocrisy seems to belie a deeper agenda.
Sanctuary cities are not about providing care and asylum to political refugees or those seeking a better way of life. They are specifically designed to bankrupt communities, states and essentially the American Dream.
Nationally, the annual cost of illegal immigration is $116 billion according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), but the burden on state and local governments is crippling. State and local taxpayers are disproportionately footing the bill with the majority of spending on free programs for illegals estimated at $88.9 billion.
As many teachers walked out of their classrooms last month citing lack of proper funding and low pay, education for illegals has been a $44.4 billion annual burden on local and state taxpayers. One in ten students (4.93 million) in public schools is classified as Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Teaching LEP students puts additional stress on faculty and qualified staff. State and local taxpayers foot 98.9 percent of the bill.
The National School Lunch Program, which costs taxpayers $13.6 billion annually, has caused many school districts to lose some of their federal funding. To join the lunch program, districts are required to change the way they count the number of students, often undercounting undocumented children. Much to their chagrin, this has led to cuts in federal funding that could have helped with much-needed staff increases and other programs. Free meals in schools hit local and state taxpayers with a $1.95 billion yearly tab.
Free medical care for illegals costs $12.1 billion on the state and local level. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment Act, illegals cannot be turned away for medical treatment. Medicaid retroactively covers the expenses which are passed on to legal and insured patients. Healthcare programs for low income immigrants are currently available in 25 states. Medicaid in states such as California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New York and Massachusetts is provided regardless of immigration status. States that do provide Medicaid to illegals do not receive matching funds from the federal government, placing further strain on state and local levels.
In addition to medical care, public services for illegals cost state and local taxpayers $18.5 billion, welfare for illegals another $2.9 billion.
According to libertarian Kirsten Tate, “Half of noncitizens are on food stamps… Half of new noncitizens receive welfare, but the figure jumps to a stunning 70 percent among those who have been in the United States for more than 10 years.” She also notes that “noncitizen families in the United States are twice as likely to receive welfare payments than native born families.”
State and local governments also shell out an estimated $10.8 billion in costs for justice expenditures related to illegals, which include policing, border patrol, courts and corrections.
While the cost of illegal immigration can be easily seen on the national level, the enormous burden on state and local taxpayers is felt much closer to home with property tax increases, overcrowded and underfunded schools, and increasing municipal costs. The economic infrastructure of the United States was not designed to withstand this type of influx nor was it the goal of our founders. This issue is the most recent Trojan horse threating the American way of life, as it is in essence a primal skeleton of redistribution of wealth, which was been the proven downfall of many nations. Is it possible that this path of making an unfathomable debt out of the American Dream, tossing it into the trash bin of history, is to set up a new world order?
