Michele Bachmann: “I thank the gentleman from Iowa, and I am grateful that he is putting into the Record the pillars of American…”

“I thank the gentleman from Iowa, and I am grateful that he is putting into the Record the pillars of American exceptionalism. That is our Nation. Again, what we are concerned about is America first; the American people first; American jobs first; American wages first; American benefits first. And unfortunately, a study came out in April from Harvard that said illegal aliens have contributed to a loss of income of $1,300 a year. Let's not drive that number any further. So I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to discuss this with the American people this evening. I yield back the balance of my time. What Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants Will Cost America (By Jim DeMint and Robert Rector, Heritage Foundation) The economist Milton Friedman warned that the United States cannot have open borders and an extensive welfare state. He was right, and his reasoning extends to amnesty for the more than 11 million unlawful immigrants in this country. In addition to being unfair to those who follow the law and encouraging more unlawful immigration in the future, amnesty has a substantial price tag. An exhaustive study by the Heritage Foundation has found that after amnesty, current unlawful immigrants would receive $9.4 trillion in government benefits and services and pay more than $3 trillion in taxes over their lifetimes. That leaves a net fiscal deficit (benefits minus taxes) of $6.3 trillion.…”