Thread: Study: Loss of immigrants would cripple economy

May 19, 2008, 12:42PM
Study: Loss of illegal immigrants would cripple economy


By JENALIA MORENO
Houston Chronicle Copyright 2008
Eliminating illegal immigrants would cripple the national economy, according to a study backed by Houston business leaders.

Kicking immigrant restaurant employees, landscapers and other workers out of the country would cost nearly $1.8 trillion in annual spending and 8.1 million jobs, the study by the Perryman Group said.

Texas would be the second-hardest hit state after California if the state's 1.2 million undocumented workers disappeared, the study said, removing $220.7 billion in spending within the Lone Star State.

The study was released Monday by the Americans for Immigration Reform, a group spearheaded by the Greater Houston Partnership.

The group hopes to convince politicians and the public that the nation's immigration laws must be changed. It plans to raise $12 million by December to campaign for immigration reform and so far has raised about 10 percent of that goal in pledges.

jenalia.moreno@chron.com
Priority: Normal





http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5789885.html

I agree, it would cripple the micro-economies of every illegal alien family...and your point is what?

Boy, we would sure miss that 50 billion dollar/yr. trickle of remittances leaving the US! That would really hurt!

This is a flat out lie .
Lets do a critcial test of reality . Kick them "All" out . Lets see what happens . Thats fair

Eliminating illegal immigrants would cripple the national economy, according to a study backed by Houston business leaders.



Wow....a study backed by business leaders!! It doesn't get any more impartial than that!!

But yes, I agree.....it would cripple Mexico's economy and quite severely too. I hope they're saving for a rainy day.

Kicking immigrant restaurant employees, landscapers and other workers out of the country would cost nearly $1.8 trillion in annual spending and 8.1 million jobs, the study by the Perryman Group said.

How? The construction industry is slowing down drastically,with high gas, lost jobs, and higher taxes, people aren't going out to eat as much, I've seen more people doing their own lawn work instead of hiring someone. I realize there will always be someone requiring those services, but not 20 million!!!!! Can't spend what you don't make.......all I know is the food pantries are being hit hard and even emergency ones open for only a couple hours once a week are being hit too and people don't have the money to donate more......not a hard guess as to who the first responders are for the freebies.....3 and 4 families in one vehicle......we can't sustain all these people when people are trying to tread water themselves.

Funny how this article fails to mention the financial burden the illegals have on our educational, social, and medical costs in this country. How much is that costing us?

I really do not care about the sales tax these people pay when they buy a six-pack. That will never cover the costs we pay to educate their children, pay their medical costs, pay their welfare benefits, etc. If it did, then why am I as an American citizen required to pay income tax to the state and fed governments.

The illegals spend as little as possible in this country, while the majority of their money goes back to Mexico in the way of remittances.

The figures expressed in this article/study are suspect at best.

That's just my opinion...

Weren't threats of a fragile economy cited by some plantation owners as justification for the continued use of slavery? I don't think many people today would argue for the reestablishment of slavery to regain whatever possible economic benefits those guys were talking about.

Then as now, vested interests make threats that our economy would be ruined if variable X was removed, be it slavery or illegal aliens or child laborers. But somehow, our economy did not tank over the long run, and surged back stronger than before. The free market adapts and efficiently shuffles resources to where they are needed most. There is a reason we are not still driving around in horse-drawn carriages, and it is probably no thanks to the owner of a horse-and-buggy company. Remove the illegals, let the market adapt as it has always done, let the consumers decide, and let yesterday's corporate masters find a new cashcow. We will all be better off for it.

I myself look at the use of illegal aliens as an artificial distortion of the market. Prices are artificially low due to the below market rate wages these illegals are willing to work for. Among other things, this has caused a surplus of houses to be built which are sitting empty across America right now. Perhaps it is also preventing new, cheaper, and more efficient machines from being developing to replace these illegals. It is also creating a drag on our economy via the increased taxation required to support the 20M. Doesn't really seem like an efficient use of resources to me.

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Yeah, those godsend illegal aliens are the true savior of our economy and we couldn't survive without them. I guess every study listed below is just absolutely wrong, then:

The Congressional Budget Office in December 2007 (CBO: The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments) stated the tax revenues that unauthorized immigrants generate for state and local governments do not offset the total cost of services provided to those immigrants. Illegal immigrants are a NET COST LOSS and a burden to the budgets of all states. This cost is largely borne by the states and citizen taxpayers. Federal payments allocated by Washington fall far short in reimbursing state and local government expenditures.

A report in April 2008 by economist Edwin Rubenstein titled the FISCAL COST OF IMMIGRATION, indicated:
- The impact on 15 Federal Departments surveyed was: $346 billion in fiscal related costs in FY 2007.
- Each immigrant cost taxpayers more than $9,000 per year.
- An immigrant household, consisting of two adults and two children, cost taxpayers $36,000 per year. Legal immigrants were not separated out from illegal immigrants for the fiscal impact study, but if they had been, the fiscal cost per ILLEGAL immigrant would be even more shocking than the figures quoted above.

The annual cost for uncompensated emergency care to Mexican Border States (California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas) is $200 million. California taxpayers paid $79 million for illegal alien health care. Texas paid $74 million. –Tom DeWeese, President of American Policy Center.

The average annual cost per child for education is $7,161, totaling $109 billion to educate illegal aliens annually. The average cost of bilingual education is $1,200 per illegal student. U.S. schools annually educate 1.1 million illegal children. -Tom DeWeese, President of American Policy Center.

A major cost factor in the conduct of school operations relates to the vast number of children of illegal immigrants in our classroom and the special-training dictates for many of those students being taught in their native language — some 82 languages in San Diego County, 112 languages in Los Angeles County. – North County Times, March 2008. In New York City alone, more than 200 languages are spoken in the public schools. –NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

Texas spends $3.9 billion annualy to educate illegal immigrant children. Judicial Watch, February 2008

$108.2 million is spent each year by U.S. border counties in the four state region to pay for law enforcement, criminal justice and emergency healthcare services to illegal immigrants, states a February 2008 report from the United States/Mexico Border Counties Coalition (USMBCC). Current federal reimbursement returns only 11.5 cents on the dollar to counties for handling criminal illegal immigrant services.

From 1999 through 2006, the 24 counties along the U.S.-Mexico border spent a cumulative $1.23 billion on services to process criminal undocumented immigrants through the law enforcement and criminal justice system. In fiscal year 2006 alone, the cost was $192 million. Yet, the federal government has only reimbursed these 24 counties $4.7 million for detaining criminal undocumented immigrants for fiscal year 2006 (and $54.8 million since 1999). These are staggering costs considering the rural nature and poverty level of most of these border counties. The costs to process undocumented immigrants come at the expense of basic, vital services to county residents. (Undocumented Immigrants in U.S. Border Counties: The Costs of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Services; U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition February 200

The average illegal immigrant family uses $2,700/year more in services than it pays in taxes. In 2002, this amounted to a $10.4 billion drain on the federal budget. Some of the greatest federal costs included: Medicaid ($2.5 billion); treatment for the uninsured ($2.2 billion); food assistance programs ($1.9 billion); the federal prison and court systems ($1.6 billion); and federal aid to schools ($1.4 billion). According to the CIS report, since most of the illegal aliens currently in the workforce do not have a high school diploma, they only qualify for low paying jobs. That translates into low federal tax payments. Should illegal aliens ever receive an amnesty, it is estimated that net deficit costs would triple to $7,700 per household due to eligibility to all federal, state and local services. http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalrelease.html

Furthermore; nationwide, 40% of households headed by an illegal alien receive welfare benefits and 56% have no health insurance. Standard & Poor’s reports that education of illegal alien children costs the states and federal government $11 billion dollars per year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hduG9Dw0oYg

Heritage Foundation research shows in FY 2004, at the state and local level, the average low skill immigrant household received $14,145 in benefits and services and paid only $5,309 in taxes (those that actually paid taxes). The average low skill immigrant households imposed a net fiscal burden on state and local government of $8,836 per year. That is approximately $9000 for EACH immigrant household of which at least 50% are illegal aliens.

In California, each illegal immigrant will take $50,000 in services from the state beyond what he will contribute in taxes during his lifetime. -The Immigration Solution; Manhattan Institute, 2007

Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation calculates that each immigrant who is a high school dropout, as most Mexican immigrants are, will end up costing taxpayers $85,000 over his lifetime.

Taxpayers in our country pay more than $100 billion every year on health care and other services for illegal immigrants, including education, law enforcement costs, and housing. – Congressman Dean Heller-Jan. 2008 http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/200 ... /729401847

A Harvard University study released in January 2008 found that illegal aliens depressed wages in Arizona by $1.4 billion dollars. Hardest hit were low skilled legal workers whose wages fell by 5%. Wage suppression of American workers is a consistent effect throughout the country due to the employment of illegal aliens. http://www.azcentral.com/business/artic ... 10-ON.html

40% of the decline in employment of black men is due to immigration. Foreign workers are taking American's jobs and depressing wages. And while Americans from all backgrounds are being harmed, lower to middle income African American workers are being disproportionately affected. –Dr. Frank Morris, former Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; February 2008.

CA Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine said the cost of illegal immigration to California has been estimated at $10.5 billion a year. “And if you look at the expansion of government and the estimates of the number of people who are here illegally, these costs are probably easily in excess of $11 billion a year,â€