Thread: TN: Illegal Immigration Costs $300M Per Year

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.

http://www.newschannel5.com/global/stor ... =Printable

Taxpayer money is being spent to educate people who are no allowed to WORK in this country. The only reason for public financed education is to prepare a workforce for the Nation. It's like paying for a car that you will never be allowed to drive. And the real sticker is illegals aren't paying property taxes that finance education. And don't buy that BS that they pay property taxes by renting. Taxes on property are paid by the owner and they would be paid if they were not rented.

They doubled cigarette taxes this year in order to pay for "education." The Nashville school system has an estimated 6,000 illegal kids and a recent study showed that over 83% of the children in the system were below the poverty level, which is a combination of the aforementioned and people LEAVING because of high taxes. The schools are soaring to the bottom as fast as ESL classes can carry them.

Not only do they have to teach them English but they have to teach them "cultural differences" and things like how to use the bathroom. One school official said many of them are "ill prepared" to attend school.

All of this has been dumped on the school system within the last 6-7 years.

Illegal Immigration Now Costs Tennesseans More Than $285 Million a Year, Finds FAIR Study



WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report by the
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), confirms that mass
illegal immigration is no longer isolated to a few states or regions of the
country, but has become a nationwide phenomenon. According to the FAIR's
latest state impact study, Tennesseans now spend $285 million a year for
illegal alien K-12 education, health care, and incarceration of criminal
illegal aliens.

K-12 education for children who are in the country illegally, or are
the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens, accounts for the greatest share
of the costs. According to FAIR's analysis, 29,000 such children in
Tennessee public schools cost state taxpayers about $255 million. Another
$22.7 million is spent by the state providing health care to illegal
aliens, while $5.7 million goes toward incarcerating illegal aliens who
have committed a variety of crimes.

"Until relatively recently, people in much of the country could sit on
the sidelines, because illegal immigration was somebody else's problem,"
observed Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "As the mounting bills for the costs
of illegal immigration in Tennessee attest, the impact of mass illegal
immigration is now felt by just about every American, no matter where they
happen to live."

The South has seen exponential growth in illegal immigration during
this decade. Another recent report from FAIR, How Many Illegal Aliens?,
estimates that the illegal population of Tennessee has grown from about
46,000 in 2000 to about 100,000 today.

"What is happening in Tennessee and many other states that are
beginning to experience a large influx of illegal immigration explains why
this issue has dominated the national agenda," said Stein. "People all
across the country are demanding federal and local action to rein-in
illegal immigration because nearly everyone is paying the price for the
long-term neglect of our immigration policies. As evident from the mounting
costs in Tennessee, mass illegal immigration affects people's tax burdens,
their jobs, their children's schools, their access to quality health care,
and just about everything that is important to them."

Given the enormous impact, it is not surprising that eight of
Tennessee's nine House members are co-sponsors of the SAVE Act, new
congressional legislation aimed at tightening immigration enforcement.
"When people begin to feel the pinch, they demand action," concluded Stein.

www.prnewswire.com

The fact that this taxpayer-theft is allowed to occur is unbelievable. We have to stop this.