On the recordJuly 8, 2013
What I would say is this: Who is benefiting? The studies all confirm that it is the illegal immigrant who is the recipient of that money. It isn't going to the taxpayers. What we do know from a tax point of view is that illegal immigrants on average pay somewhere about $10,000 in taxes, but they receive over $30,000 in taxpayer-subsidized revenue benefits; therefore, they are a net negative to the American Treasury of $20,000 a year. Now, why in any universe would you import people into the United States that cost us on average, not just $20,000 one time, $20,000 every year? As a matter of fact, Robert Rector has said in his work that the average illegal immigrant cost the United States Treasury over the course of their lifetime about $1 million. Why would we do that? Why would we do that? Because we are robbing from our children. That's why it doesn't make sense. We are hurting the American middle class who are here legally.
