Each of Us Pays a Huge Price for Illegal Immigration

I Don't Have an Extra $20,000 - Do You? Each Illegal Immigrant Costs You and Me Up to $20,000! Survey after survey, from the Pew Hispanic Studies Institute to credible national polls show a majority of Americans against allowing illegal immigrants a "free ride" to citizenship, benefits, or any other reward for breaking American Law and entering the country illegally.
Were it not for un-enforced laws against employers of illegals, and the concurrent greed for laborers and low wage jobs filled by illegals, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Immigration enforcement administration claims of not enough personnel just don't wash. Pittance fines and no real economical or criminal penalty against employers prevent real enforcement; there are thousands of leads available from the public, just ask. The law isn't even enforced when tips are reported to Immigration and Homeland Security.

I am all for legal immigration, but not illegal immigration.
Below are some facts and figures.
Here's the bottom line: The NET cost of illegal immigrants of ALL persuasions is...wait for it...here it comes...$115,000,000,000. That's Billions with a big "B" folks.
Think of 3,700+ public school buildings, servicing almost 3,000,000 children at a cost per building of $16,000,000 = $48,000,000,000, and that's just the buildings! Now add 114,000 teachers at a cost of $50,000 each = $5,700,000,000.
Okay, we're getting warmed up here.
Now add the cost of illegal's un-insured and un-reimbursed health care; 11,000,000 (or more) at $1,000 each per year (that's the average) = $11,000,000,000.
Crime: Up to 90,000 illegals incarcerated at a yearly cost of $45,000+ equals $4,000,000,000+.
Oh, cost of free public defenders most get? About $500 each; 90,000 x 500 = $45,000,000. Oh, plus estimated victims cost - 90,000 x $10,000 = $900,000,000. Let's not forget the cost of prison space, 90,000 at a per-cell cost of $60,000+, divided by two per cell = $2,700,000,000. . Prosecution cost? $3,000 per trial x 90,000 = $270,000,000.

Medical cost each while incarcerated? $1,000 each per year x 90,000 =$90,000,000.
What about crimes unsolved? Estimated 40-50,000 unsolved crimes committed by illegals, Total cost estimated, mainly victim cost? $400-500,000,000.
Pollution? How much pollution do 3,500,000 illegals generate driving cars? 4,500,000 using public transportation? How about illegals with no auto insurance and victims having to seek Uninsured Motorist reimbursement from the states?
Oops! Go back to the schools costs. Add 100,000 school buses at a yearly cost of $50,000 each = $5,000,000,000.

And on, and on... and on. Need for housing driving up housing costs for all. Charitable donations? Clothing? Welfare and social costs?
Anyone who tells you that the justification for illegals taking up all these resources is that certain types of jobs won't get done unless we allow it doesn't realize that we could afford to pay Americans up to 12+ dollars an hour for those same jobs, plus benefits, if we chose to.
The fact is that employers of illegals are getting what amounts to a taxpayer subsidy- that's you and me, folks- of over $10,000 per job!
This just has to stop! We have to give Americans fair market wages for jobs, and stop the trafficking of illegals! If 3,000,000 Americans took those same jobs at 12+ dollars an hour, that would reduce unemployment a full two percentage points, to under 4%! And still allow for millions of Guest Workers!

Let's have LEGAL Immigration, with respect for our laws. Let's allow up to 5,000,000 LEGAL Immigrant Guest Workers per year, but at the same time allow market forces to generate a rate of pay that would encourage Americans to do many jobs. The pressure won't decrease on immigration, because if anything the jobs would be even more attractive. But, many of those jobs would be filled by Americans because of (in economic terms) "the market clearing effect" of much higher labor rates. And there would be no "subsidy" of employers - well, not much, because the Americans taking these jobs would be paying above board taxes and benefits. And that would reduce pressure on public costs of hospital care and un-reimbursed costs for the unemployed and under-employed, aid to children, much more!

Oh, and let's change the law that allows any child born in US to get US citizenship! What a travesty! Estimates are that many thousands of pregnant illegals come to the US for just that purpose, and many more thousands get pregnant after they come here, and we reward them for their illegal act by giving them benefits, paying for the birth, giving them a US Birth Certificate certifying their citizenship. Then the mothers are eligible for Aid to Dependent Families with Children (welfare), including health benefits, and we hardly ever deport illegal immigrant parents of children born in the US, absent some horrible act of murder,or other crimes.

What is so frustrating to many Americans is that in their hearts, and their guts, they know that this is wrong. But wrong-headed politicos, motivated by the politics of greed and political contributions, stubbornly refuse to recognize the will of the American people.

I certainly hope we are motivated enough to do something about this prior to the Presidential election, and if not to elect new leaders who will satisfy the overwhelming will of the people..