After Fiscal Year 2023 saw record numbers of illegal alien encounters at the southwest border, a new report shows that the crisis is costing American taxpayers around $451 billion per year. 

A new report released by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security revealed the staggering amount taxpayers lose to funding illegal aliens’ healthcare, education, and housing. Additionally, with the influx of illegal alien encounters, taxpayers are left to bear the brunt of costly extra law enforcement. 

The report takes into account the millions of illegal aliens released by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as well as the 1.7 million “gotaways” that escaped federal custody. 

Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies. Only a small fraction is ever recouped from the taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and lawful residents. Mass illegal immigration, accelerated by Mayorkas’ open-borders policies, now represents a massive cost to the federal government and state governments alike, as well as the pocketbooks of private citizens and businesses.

Last month, the House Judiciary Committee revealed that the Biden administration has failed to remove more than 99 percent of illegal aliens who have been released into the U.S. Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, through March 31, 2023, authorities have only removed 108,100 of at least 2.15 million illegal aliens released into the U.S. 

The latest report comes after U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R–GA) proposed an impeachment resolution for Mayorkas. House Democrats, along with eight Republicans, voted down a motion to fast track the resolution, with Rep. Ken Buck (R–CO) saying Mayorkas has not “committed an impeachable offense.”

In 2021, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton revealed that Texans pay an average of about $152 million a year to house illegal aliens, between $62 million and $90 million to include illegals in Texas’ emergency Medicaid program, and between $579 million and $717 million for hospitals to provide uncompensated medical care. 

In the Texas Legislature, the House passed two border security measures to provide funding for border barrier infrastructure and to create a criminal penalty for illegal entry into the state. One of the measures must be sent back to the Texas Senate for approval due to an additional amendment added in the House. The other measure will now move to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. 

The fourth special session expires on December 6.

Emily Medeiros

Emily graduated from the University of Oklahoma majoring in Journalism. She is excited to use her research and writing skills to report on important issues around Texas.

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