Illinois: ‘Welcoming’ Programs Increase Cost of Illegal Immigration By at Least $2.2 Billion

By Margaret Flavin
Feb. 3, 2024 4:00 pm



The cost of Joe Biden’s broken border is unsustainable.

In Illinois, ‘welcoming’ programs have increased the cost of illegal immigration to the state by at least $2.2 billion over the last two years, according to a recent Wirepoints report.

The analysis of government grant reports, budgets, and other public documents tallied the costs of “free” benefits for the 35K illegals flooding the state.

More than $1 billion has been spent on health care costs, at least $120 million in FY24 for English as a Second Language (ESL) needs in public schools, and almost $900 million has been spent on housing, food, and legal resources.

Chart courtesy of

WirepointsWirepoints reports:

Gov. Pritzker revealed on Nov. 16, 2023 that the state had already spent $478 million on the migrant crisis when he announced a further $160 million to be dedicated to flattening the ‘bottleneck’ created by the increase in migration in the second half of 2023. Of the $160 million in new spending, $30 million is to be dedicated to welcoming the migrants, $65 million will go to sheltering and another $65 million will go to help make the migrants independent.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also announced in late December 2023 that his administration plans on redirecting $95 million in covid-relief funds towards migrant shelter costs. The move was met with hostility from some members of the city council who decried the diversion of funds meant for city residents and the mayor’s lack of transparency over how the money would be spent.

The $95 million is on top of what the city has already spent from state and federal sources, as well as the $59 million that came “directly from Chicago taxpayers” in 2023, as WTTW recently reported.

Wirepoints notes that these costs represent only a portion of the cost of illegals to Illinois taxpayers.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform reports that the social and economic cost of illegal immigrants across the country, net of the taxes they pay, now totals more than $150 billion annually, with Illinois paying at least $3.9 billion a year.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recently begged Governor Greg Abbott of Texas for “mercy” as illegals swarm the sanctuary state, despite virtue signaling in 2021 by signing four bills making Illinois the “most welcoming state in the nation” for illegals.

Questions have arisen about how some of the funds have been spent and the lack of transparency. A recent investigation by CBS Chicago uncovered records showing Chicago has paid out $138 million from October 2022 in a sweetheart deal with Favorite Healthcare Staffing, where some employees were being paid rates ranging from nearly $50 to $156 an hour for regular pay and from $75 to $234 an hour for overtime.
Read the full disturbing report from Wirepoints here.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/illinoiswelcoming-programs-increase-cost-illegal-immigration-least-2/