NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A new report puts a price tag on how much illegal immigrants cost Tennessee taxpayers.

It is close to $300 million every year, according to the study conducted the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a nonprofit research group.

It contradicts a report by the state comptroller's office released in August that indicated undocumented immigrants boosted the economy and did not take jobs from any Tennessee workers.

Jack Martin's team of researchers at FAIR investigated the cost of illegal immigration in Tennessee.

"The largest category of expenses to the taxpayers is for the education of the children of illegal immigrants," Martin said.

The cost is $255 million each year for education from kindergarten through the twelfth grade and ESL programs. Martin estimates an additional $30 million is spent on healthcare and incarceration, bringing the total to $285 million.

How does this report differ from the state comptroller's report?

"One of the main differences the comptroller's report was also trying to calculate the value of goods and services provided by the illegal immigrants," Martin said. "And that doesn't really make any sense unless you're working on the assumption that those jobs wouldn't be done by Americans if the illegal immigrants were not taking those jobs."

Martin doesn't believe the immigrants are doing jobs Americans workers would not do.

"There's no job in the United States being done only by illegal aliens, so you know there are Americans working alongside illegal aliens," he said.

NewsChannel 5 assembled a small sampling of Nashville's Hispanic community to respond to the report.

"It's a growth," said one leader. "We have to have extra help to develop it. When they come here, whether illegal or not, makes no difference. They are extra labor that we need."

If Tennesseans are spending million to educate illegal immigrants is that really a bad thing?

"I will never consider investing on education as something that is detrimental to our growth and development," said Yuri Cunza, president of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"Everything has a negative and we can all say, well that person shouldn't have this, but we can also look at the positives," said Rachel Hernandez. "I think that sometimes with immigrants we're forgetting their part."

A Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman said it's hard to estimate just how many children of illegal immigrants are actually in the state school system. Federal law prohibits school officials from asking about a student's immigration status.

Several lawmakers such as state Rep. Debra Maggart are calling for the state comptroller to deliver another report about illegal immigration.

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