Each Illegal Immigrant Family Cost Arizona $19,600 per Year

Law Prof. Kris Koback who drafted the Arizona Immigration Law, said on this morning's Bill Bennett radio show that illegal immigrants cost Arizona $19,600 per family each year. If you choose to listen to the entire interview (12:59) the quote below comes at the 9:20 mark.


"The factor that almost always drives cities and states to act [...] the number one factor is cost. Illegal immigration is not [...] something that brings in lots of productive workers that suddenly makes it possible for our bloated Social Security system to work. On the contrary, if you bring in under-educated people [...] who are net consumers of public goods. It's been calculated that the average illegal alien household consumes $19,600 in goods and public services every year, more than it contributes. As a result it breaks the budget."

Unlike the federal government [...] states have to actually balance their budget. When you're looking for reasons why your budget is going out of control and into the red, illegal immigration ranks right up there at the top of the list.
[link to www.billbennett.com]



Despite the cries of "racism" that you hear from some groups, the main drive of this is cost. Arizona just can't afford go keep taking in more illegal aliens. The gross cost for providing services to illegal aliens along with the criminal court costs is over $2 billion per year. It's breaking them financially and I suspect that this is one of the main reasons why California is in such a bad financial situation as well. The phrase "Follow the money" gets repeated enough around here that I'm surprised people are actually buying into the line that this is about racism.


The crux of the problem is not illegal immigration, it is paying welfare to the illegal immigrants that is killing the Arizona and California economy.


It is one thing to have free immigration to jobs. It is another thing to have free immigration to welfare.

And you cannot have both. If you have a welfare state, if you have a state in which every resident is promised a certain minimal level of income, or a minimum level of subsistence, regardless of whether he works or not, produces it or not. Then it really is an impossible thing.
[link to en.wikipedia.org]