FIRST ON FOX: Illegal immigration is now costing U.S. taxpayers $151 billion a year, marking a 30% increase in five years, according to a new study by a hawkish immigration group being released this week.
The study, "The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers 2023" by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) concludes that American taxpayers pay overall around $182 billion annually for services and benefits to illegal immigrants. However, those costs are offset by around $31 billion in taxes collected from what they estimate are 15.5 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.
Those costs represent a 30% increase since 2017, when FAIR -- which advocates for stricter border security and lower levels of immigration overall -- put the annual net cost at $116 billion a year.
While illegal immigrants are not eligible for the majority of federal welfare programs, the study also takes into account services, such as education and food assistance programs, provided to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants and also programs that they may be eligible for at the state level.