Illegals in US could cost taxpayers $451 billion per year: House GOP report

Caring for illegal aliens currently within the United States could cost American taxpayers up to $451 billion per year, a Monday interim staff report from House Republicans has concluded.

Originally obtained by the New York Post, the 49-page report entitled "The Historic Dollar Costs of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' Open-Border Policies" became public the same day that the House voted to refer a resolution to impeach the eponymous security official to the Homeland Security Committee.

Mayorkas has ranked among the Republicans' top targets in the Biden administration due in large part to his presiding over an unprecedented surge in illegal border crossings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported more than 7 million migrant encounters at the Southwest land border alone since President Joe Biden took office. The report aimed to quantify the adverse impact of his tenure on American taxpayers.

"Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies," the report begins. "Only a small fraction is ever recouped from the taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and lawful residents."

"Mass illegal immigration, accelerated by Mayorkas’ open-borders policies, now represents a massive cost to the federal government and state governments alike, as well as the pocketbooks of private citizens and businesses," it continues. "The range of costs inflicted by Mayorkas’ border crisis cover everything from emergency medical care to increased demands on law enforcement to housing and shelter benefits for illegal aliens."

The report highlighted estimates from immigration analysts such as the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). CIS figures put the total cost as high as $451 billion while the FAIR data put the tax burden at a net $150 billion after accounting for illegals' tax contributions.

Despite the widely varying estimates, the report remained consistent in asserting that large-scale illegal alien presence presented a substantial financial burden to U.S. taxpayers. House Republicans broke down the expenses into six key sections, namely health care; law enforcement; education; welfare and other benefits; housing and shelter; and private property and border livelihoods.

In the end, Republicans drew damning conclusions about Mayorkas' job performance from the data.

"It is morally unacceptable that American taxpayer dollars should be funneled to those who violate our laws and demand expansive, taxpayer-funded benefits like education, health care, housing, and more," the report went on. "Many of these individuals will likely represent a drain on American society for the remainder of their days in the United States, constantly absorbing more benefits from the state than they ever contribute—to say nothing of the fact that they have no lawful basis to remain in the country to begin with."

"Mayorkas’ policies have enabled this mass waste and abuse of taxpayer resources. His policies and actions have encouraged millions of people to cross our borders illegally," it concluded. "His department has released millions of illegal aliens into the United States rather than detaining or removing them, as required by law. And there is no end in sight. As long as Mayorkas insists on these failed policies, Americans will be the ones on the hook for the bill incurred by the millions of lawbreakers demanding benefits from Uncle Sam."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.