http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/2006 ... /107010096

Illegal immigrants cover most of cost

Maria Sanchez-Traynor
July 1, 2006

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Illegal immigrants are bringing in about as much money into state coffers as they are taking out, according to a report released Friday.

But there is still at least a $31 million gap that the state has to pay according the Bell Policy Center, a liberal Denver think tank.

The center's report said that estimated 250,000 illegal immigrants in Colorado cost the state about $225 million a year for federally mandated services like K-12 education, emergency medical care and incarceration. At the same time though, those people are paying up to $194 million in taxes each year, the report stated. Those taxes -- which include sales and property taxes -- cover 70 to 86 percent of their costs, the report stated.

The Bell report was released a week before lawmakers will head to a rare special session to deal with illegal immigration. Specifically, Gov. Bill Owens is asking that the legislators to bar illegal immigrants from state services.

Wade Buchanan, president of the center, said that lawmakers should target employers, not the immigrants, to help deal with the immigration problem.

"The bottom line is that you can make communities as inhospitable as possible and they'll still come here because the jobs are here," he said.

The report has the latest numbers in the state-wide debate about the real cost of immigration. Defend Colorado Now, an anti-illegal immigration group, estimates that the illegal immigrants cost the state $1 billion each year. The group questioned the Bell report's numbers and said that the center underestimated costs of illegal immigration like Medicaid and illegal immigrant births.

"These are low-income families who have to be subsidized. I don't mind subsidizing our own residents, but I object to subsidizing Mexican residents," said former Gov. Dick Lamm who is a member of Defend Colorado Now.

Exact numbers on the costs of illegal immigration are tough to pinpoint, said Bell researchers. They said the numbers in their report were "estimates on estimates."

"We truly don't know exact numbers," said Robin Baker, a policy analyst for the center. "These are very tough estimations to make."

The center just looked at costs that were federally mandated. No one had yet found out exactly how much illegal immigrants cost in state services that are not mandated -- the issue that will be debated at the special session.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TAX REVENUE AND SERVICE COSTS

A summary of the estimated tax revenue and public service costs for illegal immigrants from the Bell Policy Center, a liberal think tank:

Income

--State income taxes $24 million to $30 million.

--Property taxes: $10 million to $13 million.

--Sales taxes: $125 million to $151 million.

Mandated Services

--Public education: $176 million.

--Emergency medical care: $31 million.

--Incarceration: $225 million