¿Are we looking at Dems and other Bush-haters in Repub clothing on this thread? The operatives are getting slicker all the time, or so it seems.
Anyway, we can root out all the illegals and deport them ASAP -- raise your hand if you think that's ever going to happen.
We can keep them illegal and perpetuate the Underground Economy -- which is draining us and we are all paying the bill.
We can make the illegals living here legal and part of the tax paying mainstream since we didn't have the will to keep them out in the first place -- it's the cost of not being vigilant.
We can get serious about stopping this problem and take the necessary steps to end it --- from this point on. Unfortunately, we can't undo what has been done -- we can't unexplode a bomb.
After 10 Years, Illegal-Alien Amnesty Costs $78 Billion
WASHINGTON (May 5, 1997) ‹ Ten years ago today, the amnesty for illegal aliens passed by Congress in the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) began. More than 2.7 million illegal aliens received legal status as a result of the amnesty.
The Center for Immigration Studies released a report today estimating the total cost of the amnesty to federal, state and local governments. The report, entitled "Measuring the Fallout: The Cost of the IRCA Amnesty After 10 Years," pegs the total cost at $78.7 billion over the past 10 years. Other findings of the report, authored by Center Chairman David Simcox, are:
- The total direct fiscal cost of the amnesty was $24.1 billion, representing $102.1 billion in government services offset by $78 billion in taxes paid over the past ten years.
- Various indirect costs ‹ including services for American workers displaced by the amnesty recipients and education and other services provided to the children of amnesty recipients ‹ totaled $54.6 billion over the past decade.
- The total fiscal cost of $78.7 billion represents a government subsidy of $29,148 for each illegal alien who received amnesty.