Replies

I had no idea the fence was that much, does your 10 billion dollar figure include every cost to the country; medical, SS, welfare, crime you name it.Ten billion is a lot but it seems to me I have seen higher figures, but can't substantiate right now. There are a million hidden costs to putting up with illegal aliens from increased law enforcement to job displacement. It's a tough figure to estimate.

>"I had no idea the fence was that much"<

-Yes, that is an estimate based on what Israel spent on it's fence. Israel's fence costs between 2 to 4 million per mile, but it's a pretty elaborate system.
Our border has some pretty tough terrain, however, and access would require some utility/ maintenance road building.
8 billion is a realistic number.

I believe a border fence/wall with Mexico is going to happen, eventually. Of course there will be proper exit entry stations at all the roadways.

>"does your 10 billion dollar figure include every cost to the country; medical, SS, welfare, crime you name it.Ten billion is a lot but it seems to me I have seen higher figures, but can't substantiate right now."<

I've seen estimates that are considered accurate, that illegals cost as much as 26 billion, yet contribute 16 about billion in taxes. (That includes FICA)

That is where the 10 billion dollar figure comes from; the deficit between what they contribute, and what they use in govt services, including the costs you mentioned.
Those numbers are from FAIR.

But as you said, that is hard to estimate, and some of the costs are intangible, like job displacement, victims of illegal alien crime, etc.

Here's the article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33783-2004Aug25.html

Illegal Immigrants' Cost to Government Studied

By Mary Fitzgerald
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 26, 2004; Page A21

"A report that found that illegal immigrants in the United States cost the federal government more than $10 billion a year -- a sum it estimated would almost triple if they were given amnesty -- has drawn criticism from immigration advocacy groups.

For its report, the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group that advocates tougher immigration policies, used Census Bureau figures to compare the revenue that illegal immigrants contribute through taxes with the cost of government services they use."

Illegal immigrants create a fiscal deficit because they have low incomes, Steven A. Camarota said. (Robert A. Reede - Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)

"Households headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3 billion in costs on the federal government in 2002 and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net fiscal deficit of $10.4 billion, or $2,700 per illegal household," said Steven A. Camarota, author of the study.