I appreciate the clarification, GC.
To add some more fuel to the debate fire, I came across this...
Quote:
Camarota, Steven A. 2004. "The High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the Federal Budget." Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies. URL: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscal.pdf
Background: Study is designed to assess the economic impact of illegal immigration on the federal budget.
Data Source: The Census Bureau for the year 2002.
Findings: The federal government provided $26.3 billion in federal services to households headed by undocumented immigrants ("illegal aliens") in 2002, but only collected $16 billion in taxes from undocumented households. The most utilized services include: "Medicaid ($2.5 billion); treatment for the uninsured ($2.2 billion); food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches ($1.9 billion); the federal prison and court systems ($1.6 billion); and federal aid to schools ($1.4 billion)" (pg. 5). Undocumented immigrants impact the federal budget due to their low education levels and low incomes (not their excessive use of federal services) and the costs associated with their U.S. born children (who are eligible to enroll in federal programs).
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