Heritage Issues Staggering $6.3 Trillion Amnesty Cost Report

Today, the Heritage Foundation released its report that exposed the cost of granting amnesty to illegal aliens if the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, S.744, passes. Bottom line: $6.3 trillion, the burden to be borne by U.S. taxpayers.

According to the report’s analysts, Robert Rector and Jason Richwine, benefits paid out to approximately 11 million former illegal immigrants would, over their lifetime, total $9.4 trillion in government services. Some 80 federal welfare programs are available to amnestied aliens. The estimated total taxes generated by those same immigrants would reach only $3.1 trillion, thus creating a $6.3 trillion fiscal deficit.

Rector and Richwine took into account direct benefits, such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation, as well as means-tested welfare benefits, public education costs and population-based services in reaching their findings. [Heritage: Amnestied Illegals Will Get $9.4 T in Benefits; Increase Debt 6.3 T, by Elizabeth Harrington, CNS News, May 6, 2013]

Said Rector:

"No matter how you slice it, amnesty will add a tremendous amount of pressure on America's already strained public purse.”

Heritage President Jim DeMint, anticipating heavy criticism from the Gang of Eight supporters, defended the study. Some like economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said the Heritage study ignores key factors like the possibility of illegal immigrants moving up the economic ladder. But, even if Heritage’s findings were somehow inflated by 100 percent, the cost to grant amnesty would still be scandalously high and indefensible.

DeMint told Fox News:

      "There's no way you can look at this and say that it's good for the American taxpayer."

Now all the amnesty cards are face up. The bill doesn’t have the Gang of Eight's promised border security triggers, would grant instant work authorization to about 11 million illegal immigrants, increase green card holders by 33 million over a decade and fund pro-amnesty advocacy groups with up to $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to help transition aliens to legal status.

In exchange,  Americans would be forced to assume a huge financial burden without any significant return on their involuntary investment. In short, for the aliens, their supporters which include the Chamber of Commerce, labor, the agriculture industry, immigration lawyers, Beltway lobbyists and Congressional Hispanics, S. 744 represents a clean sweep. Americans, on the other hand, get only the bill.

Read the entire Heritage report here.