http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/US_Im ... 27552.html


A major immigration reform bill currently being considered by the United States Senate will cost US taxpayers at least $2.6 trillion, according to free market think-tank, the Heritage Foundation.

In its present form, the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 would grant amnesty to nearly all illegal immigrants currently in the United States.

It is expected that many illegal immigrants who are currently working "off the books" and paying no direct taxes will begin to work "on the books" after receiving amnesty, and therefore tax payments will rise immediately, according to the Heritage Foundation. By contrast, benefits to these immigrants from Social Security, Medicare, and most means-tested welfare programs (such as Food Stamps, public housing, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) will be delayed for many years.

However, while the increase in taxes and fines paid by amnesty recipients may initially exceed slightly the increase in government benefits received, the Foundation warns that in the long run, the opposite will be true, in particular with regard to the cost of retirement benefits for amnesty recipients, which is likely to be very large. Overall, the net cost to taxpayers of retirement benefits for amnesty recipients is likely to be at least $2.6 trillion, the Foundation estimates.

According to the most widely accepted estimates, there were 11.5 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States in the spring of 2006. Because the number of illegal immigrants has, on average, increased by roughly 500,000 each year, the number of illegal immigrants in the US in 2007 is probably around 12 million to 12.5 million; however, these estimates are uncertain, and the actual number of illegal immigrants may be higher.

Illegal immigrants now make up about 4% of the US population, meaning that about one in twenty-five persons currently in the US is there unlawfully. Illegal immigrants make up nearly one-third of the foreign-born population in the US.