‘$99 Thousand Tax Dollars Per Illegal Immigrant’: Jodey Arrington Demands Increased Border Control

last year

On Wednesday, Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) delivered remarks on the continued pressure on the Southern border durign a House Budget Committee hearing.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00 I think has been well in front of the American people consistently.

00:06 But I don't think we've talked enough about the financial burden to taxpayers and the fiscal impact.

00:15 FAIR has done a great job. I've seen studies that suggest this cost is upward of $400 billion.

00:22 Their cost estimate is at $150 billion.

00:27 The lion's share of that cost is borne by state and local governments.

00:31 And friends, state and local governments can't borrow or print money like the federal government.

00:38 And so they're having to balance their budgets by either absorbing this cost through raising taxes,

00:46 or they're having to cut services to their citizens.

00:50 The $150 billion, when you look at the 22 million people that are estimated to be in this country illegally,

00:59 comes out to about $9,000 tax dollars per illegal immigrant.

01:07 So I want you to listen. I want everybody to listen to this stat.

01:11 $9,000 roughly per illegal immigrant that taxpayers are fronting.

01:17 That's more than we spend per Medicaid beneficiary.

01:23 That's more than we spend on the most vulnerable American citizen for their health care.

01:29 That's more than we spend for our heroes, our veterans, in the way of military retirement benefits.

01:38 So I think for everyone this should be unacceptable.

01:43 I believe it is quite avoidable, but this is the real and significant,

01:51 and at the state and local levels, especially unsustainable cost of the current border crisis.

01:59 Texas, in my home state alone, we've spent over $13 billion,

02:04 which is about $4,500 per illegal immigrant in Texas.

02:11 Just to give you an example or sample list of services we're providing for people who are here illegally,

02:18 it's about $3 billion extra for Head Start.

02:23 At the state level, it's $70 billion across the United States for public education.

02:31 And states have a very difficult time prioritizing and investing in public education

02:39 because of the cost of health care and now the cost of illegal immigration.

02:47 You look at criminal justice, it's about $12 billion extra in criminal justice costs across the United States.

02:54 Tens of billions of dollars in uncompensated care at hospitals.

02:58 We talk all the time as a committee about how health care costs are driving our deficits and national debt.

03:08 Medicare alone is a trillion, and that will double over the next 10 years.

03:12 And we've got tremendous cost, and that's not to even consider the crowding out of our citizens

03:21 who are in need for these spaces and hospitals, seats for our students in their schools.

03:28 So it's real, and we've quantified it, and I'm grateful for the work of FAIR.

03:36 I think I would say at a time when we have record deficits,

03:40 the highest level of indebtedness in our nation's history,

03:44 surpassing a time of war when we're in relative peace and prosperity.

03:50 At a time when our fellow Americans are spending now about $1,300 more a month

03:56 because of the inflation tax, where we're looking at an economy teetering on recession.

04:03 We've seen inflation uptick the last month.

04:06 We saw the first quarter GDP not even get half of its expectation.

04:11 I'm concerned about it.

04:13 But then you're going to add $150 billion in unnecessary cost because of illegal immigration.

04:20 Now let me say something, and I'm done, about CBO.

04:23 CBO talks about the benefits of immigration.

04:27 And let me be clear, we need legal immigration.

04:33 Legal immigration is a hallmark of the American experiment.

04:38 The new blood hungry for opportunity and freedom and the American dream,

04:43 there's nothing more American than that.

04:45 There's nothing more un-American than lawlessness and chaos

04:49 and the lack of respect for rule of law.

04:51 That's all I'm trying to contrast here.

04:53 But here's what CBO does, and it ticks me off actually.

05:00 They take into consideration some of the benefits of illegal immigration

05:05 in terms of jobs filled and revenue as a result and some taxes paid, by the way.

05:10 That $150 billion is the net after we back out about $30 billion in taxes.

05:17 What I would like to submit to my colleagues is that CBO, in order to do their job,

05:25 to provide the full picture and accurate information for us as lawmakers

05:30 to make the decisions and value judgments, is to have the full net cost.

05:39 And that $150 billion is in no CBO analysis whatsoever.

05:45 But the benefits are, seems a little odd to me, seems biased to me,

05:50 and I'm going to make sure, as long as I'm chairman, that that full picture is represented

05:56 so my Democrat colleagues and my Republican colleagues and us as a committee

06:01 can just deal with the facts and make decisions accordingly.

06:08 With that, I appreciate you again, witnesses, taking time to provide your counsel

06:14 and insight at this very important hearing,

06:17 and I'm going to turn it over to my friend and ranking member, Mr. Boyle.

‘$99 Thousand Tax Dollars Per Illegal Immigrant’: Jodey Arrington Demands Increased Border Control

Category

Transcript

Recommended