The Illegal Immigration Crisis: is not Discrimination, it is not Racial, it is Financial

Immigration is one of the most current and controversial issues in the media today. Many and varied problems are associated with the mass invasion of immigrants into the United States. The illegal immigrant crisis is not one of discrimination, or racism it is financial. The federal benefits that illegal immigrants receive are a financial drain to every American taxpayer. Illegal immigrants annually cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Population demographics of illegal immigrants
Based on the March 2008 Current Population Study (CPS) ( 2008) conducted by the United States Consensus Bureau, there are roughly 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, this equals the combined populations of Iowa, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Researchers with the Pew Hispanic Center, estimate that a half million illegal immigrants cross over the border every year. Of the 12 million illegal immigrants that have crossed over, 1.5 million are children. In October 2008, Passel and Cohen compiled a study on unauthorized immigrant trends and demographics. They concluded that the majority of adult illegal immigrants did not graduate from high school; in fact, one-third had less than a ninth-grade education. Whereas, 90% of American citizens with the same economic standing had finished high school. In a different study conducted by Passel and Cohen, (2009), A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States, approximately 8.8 million illegal immigrant households can be found across the United States. Listed below are some typical characteristics of illegal immigrant households: o a family consists of two adults and two to three children o in 84% of the households the parents are married o 67% of all adults lack a high school diploma o 34% of the adults have less than a 9th grade education o in 97% of the households one adult is employed o 67% of all the children were born in the United States o 33% of all the children are here illegally o in 85% of the households Spanish is the prevalent language o 64% of the households are at or below poverty level o 80% of the households receive benefits from at least one welfare program o 67% of the households receive benefits from two or more welfare programs
An estimated five million United States citizen born children, with one parent being illegal, are living in the United States with an additional 400,000 born each year. These children are commonly known as “anchor babies.” In the United States, economic status is in direct correlation to the educational level completed. Therefore, it is safe to assume that those with little or no advanced education will struggle to achieve financial independence.
Illegal immigrants and federal benefits received
Federal benefit programs can be divided into two categories. Social programs are programs, which help all citizens equally, as opposed to poverty programs, which only help the poor. The poverty program benefits are considered means tested benefits. Means tested benefits are benefits awarded to recipients based on their economic standing. These poverty benefits are the main focus of this report. A Congressional Report (CRS) states, “Federal law bars aliens residing without authorization in the United States from most federal benefits,” (Wasem, 2009) “Unauthorized Alien’s Access to Federal Benefits: Policy and Issues” (page 2, para. 1) Basically, citizenship, or lack thereof, is a deciding factor for many means tested federally funded benefits. Illegal immigrants that are denied the means tested benefits are eligible for benefits only in emergency situations and for immunizations.
The most policy-changing variable that opens most of the previously banned benefit programs to the illegal immigrant populace is the birth of their United States citizen born children, the “anchor babies.” Denying these illegal immigrant parents access to federally funded benefits is not possible without denying their children access to these same benefits, and these children are United States citizens. As citizens, the children have a right of expectation to most if not all of the federal, state, and local benefit programs available. In these cases, citizenship is no longer a deciding factor. Table 1. is a breakdown of federal benefit programs illegal immigrants received in 2007, each programs annual total expenditures are also noted. This information was retrieved from a study done by, Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), titled, The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers, This report is one of the best and most current, July 2010, resources available concerning the illegal immigration controversy. (Martin & Ruark, 2010)
Table 1
Federally funded benefits illegal immigrants cost taxpayers in 2007.

Program or Benefit Description Amount (in millions) General Expenditures $8,184 Education $2,108 Administration of Justice $7,830 Food Assistance $3,295 Public Housing $787 Public Assistance $4,082 Medicaid Insurance $5,700 Emergency Medical Care $250 Supplement Security Income (SSI) $2,910 Unemployment Benefits $38 Total of Benefits $35,184

Note: from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) 2010.(Martin & Ruark, 2010)
Taxes paid and tax credits received
Immigrant advocacy groups claim that illegal immigrants are a benefit in today’s economy because they work and pay taxes. True, illegal immigrants do work, but most illegal immigrants also have low education levels. These two factors combined lead to the conclusion that most illegal immigrants work minimum wage jobs. The annual income for an illegal immigrant is much lower then the annual income for an American, therefore the taxes they pay are much lower. Illegal immigrants have tax deductions taken from their pay either through a bogus Social Security (SSN) number or through their Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN), which they use as their SSN on their W-4 form that they fill out during the hiring process. Illegal immigrants can file tax returns by obtaining an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). This is a nine-digit number that begins with a nine and is used by individuals who do not have a social security number; it is to be used for tax purposes only. (“The Treasury inspector,” 2009) In Table 2. shown below, are the taxes withheld from illegal immigrant paychecks in 2007 as well as the tax credits included in their 2007 tax refund checks. Table 2.
Taxes Paid and Credits Received for Illegal Immigrants in 2007
TAXES Amount (in millions)
Taxes Withheld $9,457 CREDITS RECEIVED
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) $1,778
Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) $2,160
Total of Credits Received $3,938
Withheld Taxes Subtracted $9,457
Taxes Paid = $5,519 Note: from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) 20106(Martin, Ruark)

Illegal immigrants paid approximately $9.46 billion in taxes, which breaks down to approximately $79 from each of them. Illegal immigrants received $35.184 billion in federal benefits, which when broken down, after the subtraction of taxes they paid in, leaves a net fiscal drain of approximately $2,853 each. By doing the math, from the taxes paid in compared to the benefits they received, it is apparent that illegal immigrants are not economically beneficial to society.
Benefit abuse and misuse Illegal immigrants do much more than put a drain on the United States fiscal net worth; they abuse and misuse the public assistance benefit programs granted to them. The situation depicted in the, Joe Legal versus Joe Illegal Monthly Budget, (Joe Legal, 2010) table shown below, is common knowledge and common occurrences in Arizona. This idea came from an article called “Joe Legal versus Jose Illegal” found at the Basti says website (2010). This last table, Table 3, is a hypothetical scenario depicting two men; one is named Joe Legal and the other is named Joe Illegal. Both men are married, both men have two young daughters, both men work at the same construction company, both men make $20 an hour. Joe Legal uses his Social Security Number (SSN) for employment. Joe Illegal starts off by using his nine-digit Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) in place of a valid Social Security Number (SSN). The only difference between the two is the ITIN starts with a nine. Valid SSN do not start with the number nine. Unless their boss knew to look for this, he probably would not have noticed it. Joe Legal claimed three dependants. Joe Illegal claimed six; this is a common amount of dependants claimed when using an ITIN for employment. (“The Treasury inspector,” 2010) One expenditure, that Joe Legal had and Joe Illegal did not have, was for auto insurance. Joe Illegal does not pay for auto insurance because he does not have a driver’s license. A driver’s license is very difficult, if not legally impossible, for an illegal immigrant to obtain. Previously, Joe Illegal’s wife went to the Department of Economic Security (DES) in Phoenix to apply for public assistance benefits, she told them that Joe was working a day labor job that paid him cash under the table. DES did not know that Joe Illegal had an ITIN and that he was using this for employment and tax purposes. Usually, DES would verify employment and income through a SSN, but since Joe Illegal does not have one, his wife had a neighbor friend forge a note backing up everything she had told DES in regards to Joe’s day labor job. This was all the verification needed. Joe Illegal and his wife are both in the United States illegally, but their daughters, who were born in the United States, are citizens. As citizens, they are eligible for most benefit programs offered. At the DES office, Mrs. Illegal signs a form stating that her daughters should be put in the zero-parent category and she would act as the payee for any benefits her daughters receive. Joe Illegal‘s family was approved for: medical (AHCCCS) benefits for all, $475 in food stamps; the average amount given to a family of four, housing subsidy through HUD for $500 off each months rent, a 30% monthly discount off their bills for electric, water, and Qwest phone service. Joe Illegal’s daughters are eligible for the school free lunch program, and they are enrolled in English as Second Language (ESL) class, which offers a free after-school program full of field trips and craft projects. (azecalc. 2010) At the end of the month these benefits are the reason Joe Illegal has an ending balance of $2035.95 versus Joe Legal’s ending balance of $15.69. Data for Table 3 as follows:
The surepayroll (2010) deduction calculator configured the payroll deductions
The expenses were taken from the, “Average cost of living in Phoenix Arizona,” (2010)
The benefit amounts listed for Joe Illegal came from a DES (2010) benefit calculator.
See Table 3 on the next page.

Table 3.

Joe Legal Versus Joe Illegal Monthly Budget
JOE LEGAL JOE ILLEGAL federal and state funded assistance reasons
MONTHLY BUDGET MONTHLY BUDGET Actual Notes Actual Total Net income $3,200.00 Total Net income $3,200.00
Withholdings Actual Withholdings Notes Actual
Federal Income Tax $126.46 Federal Income Tax claimed 6 dependants $0.00
State Income Tax $137.25 State Income Tax $64.25
FICA $198.40 FICA $198.40
Medicare $46.40 Medicare $46.40
Total withholdings $508.51 Total withholdings $309.05
Total Gross Income $2,691.49 Total Gross Income $2,890.95
Monthly Expenses Actual Monthly Expenses Notes Actual
Auto Insurance $85.00 Auto Insurance no insurance/doesn't have license $0.00
Medical Insurance $600.00 Medical Insurance Has AHCCCS, AZ medical insurance $0.00
Cable TV $60.00 Cable TV $60.00
Telephone $50.00 Telephone 30 % off through DES $33.00
Rent $1,000.00 Rent Federal rent subsidy for $500 $500.00
Electricity/Water $220.00 Electricity/Water 30% off through DES $154.00
Groceries $475.00 Groceries $475 minus $367 food stamps $108.00
After School Program $115.00 After School Program ESL free after school program $0.00
School Lunches $70.80 School Lunches Free school lunch program $0.00
Total Expenses $2,675.80 Total Expenses $855.00 Income After Expenses $15.69 Income After Expenses $2035.95
Note: from bastisays.com (Joe Legal, 2010)

Pro-amnesty advocacy groups claim that the cost of illegal immigrants is offset by the taxes they pay. Just by doing the math of the tax returns paid out versus the taxes paid in, illegal immigrants do not pay their own way. In fact, they cost more than just the tax refunds they receive; illegal immigrants also receive documented benefits, which cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Ultimately, it is the American taxpayers who pay the way for illegal immigrants. The statistics clearly show illegal immigrants are a drain on the United States welfare and federal benefit programs. Not only will this drain continue it will increase exponentially as more illegal immigrants invade the United States borders. Some may ask, “How did this happen?” The American people’s Laissez-faire attitude combined with the governments’ state of constant of denial is how this crisis has escalated to the point it is today. When is this country’s streak of self-preservation going to kick in? Hopefully, while there is still something left to preserve.