Report: Mass Deportation Could Cost Texas Billions
A study released Thursday by the Center for American Progress concludes that the Texas economy would suffer a net economic loss in the billions if group deportations of illegal immigrants occurred at even moderate levels.
The progressive think tank concluded that even if as few as 15 percent of Texans living in the state illegally were removed at once, it would mean an annual $11.7 billion loss for Texas’ gross state product, increasing to more than $77 billion if all 1.65 million estimated illegal immigrants were removed from the state.
There are currently 24.3 million Texans, about ...
Comments (18)
jm fay
Dont you just love reports like this? They are so one sided; its unreal.
This country spends billions each year between the feds, the states and local gov't on illegals from education, to prisons, to the courts, etc so if we didnt have all these billions of illegals here; do you think we would have these costs? TX has the 2nd largest number of illegals so dont you think; they would be spending the money on something else?
Not a TX resident, but know its true in CO since we have cut billions from our budget and we only have a small fraction of the number of illegals that TX has. Our kids arent getting a quality education because we have to have ESL classes and our education budget has to cover alot more kids. The people at the bottom of the rung who need jobs cant find them because alot of illegals are doing them so we have to spent more on services for them (food stamps, etc) since they have no money coming in. Remittences from all these illegals sent to their home countries arent spent in CO so our businesses lose out and or close due to not enough business to pay bills. We can go on and on.
Please check your facts and post both sides to a story before you write it.
jm fay
Pardon; that should be millions of illegals here.
Lee Dunkelberg via Texas Tribune on Facebook
It doesn't "beg the question", it may ask the question. It may present the question. However, "beg the question". That phrase refers to a specific logical fallacy.
http://begthequestion.info/
Karen Spivey-Cummings via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Congress needs to pass common sense comprehensive immigration reform and the Dream Act. Stop using this as a political football.
Tim Thomas via Texas Tribune on Facebook
It does beg the question. If we're having trouble funding our government why exactly would we spend money to remove people who are paying taxes? Shouldn't we be setting up ways to ensure they're paying all taxes even if we don't allow them permanent citizenship?
Hugo Castro via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Apparently Bob A. Perry thinks this is a good problem. No wonder he is a MAJOR contributor to 527 groups. He has benefited to most.
Jose B. Gonzalez via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The GOP will deny the findings or twist the numbers by doing their famous fuzzy math.
Hugo Castro via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Its Bob J Perry (Houston home builder)
Daniel Kowalski
Excellent article, but...drop the I-Word: http://www.texastribune.org/immigration-in-texas/immigration/guest-column-call-them-unauthorized/
I know the reporter's hands are tied on this point; please fwd. to Ross and Evan...
Anya Khan
6.8 are not Texans...they are illegal aliens.
Liz Theiss
It's pretty funny that commenters actually believe that the GOP wants to deport the cheap labor of their clients. You don't have to deport, cut off Bob Perry's labor supply and pull his licenses and Linbeck,etc..and about one-fourth would realize that South is really where its at. Once the full impact of "political marginalization" sinks in..... more Americans are going to realize that billions would be a small price to pay...even if this hyperbolic garbage piece were true.
David Spratt
“Undocumented immigrant workers earn about 18 percent less in wages than legal workers. A program that required all undocumented immigrants to earn legal status would increase employment compensation and employment in the state by closing the wage gap between documented and undocumented workers,” he writes, estimating that wages in the state could increase by about $9.7 billion.
This makes no sense and actually proves wage disparity has been created by the influx of illegals if one assumes this to be true.
Giving green cards will instantly raise their wages?? If this is true , then what is wrong with deporting them and hiring Americans at the higher wage they would demand and earn being legal?
If they earn 18% less,,,, and this is an understatement in construction where wages are typically 20% to 30% less ,,,, And this is less than a living wage,,,, then how do they live?
If median income is a living wage and they earn significantly less and have higher than average unemployment ,,, common sense says they are actually costing more wealth than the wealth created by their labor.
They are earning 18% less than legal workers but typically have larger families than Americans at large. In education alone this says they are consuming more resources in the education system than they are putting in.Anchor babies are all the rage and every illegal alien wants to have at least one and prefferably more than one since this puts them in a special category with regard to their illegal status and enables them to tkae legal advantage of governmental assitance programs ,,, including legally filing for child tax credits.
This lends credibility to the claim that they consume more resources than they actually produce in the forms of food assistance , medical care, education costs and general public service costs associated with city services , fire and police protection. Not to mention the estimated 7.4 billion $ they will receive in tax credits this year ,,, an increase over last years 4.2 billion $
If giving them green cards will increase their lot in life ,, then what is wrong with deporting them an increasing Legal Americans and legal Immigrants lots in life? We have enough unemployed people here now who are legal to work without jobs,,,, why should we increase the number of workers eligible to compete for these limited jobs?
The influx of illegal Aliens will never stop until a hard stance is taken. We drew the line in the sand in 86 and it has been ignored. The government of Mexico whines about how we treat their Citizens who are in OUR COUNTRY Illegally. How much attention or care would be given by them if we had 20 million people in their country Illegally?
Billions of $ are being sent out of the country by Illegals working here every year, despite the fact they earn substandard wages. This diminishes the availability and flow of currency within this country. Every time a dollar changes hands it is taxed in some way. If this money is taken out of circulation within the country it is no longer changing hands and being taxed in this country.
No, the cost of NOT deporting them is far higher than deporting them ,, if you factor in all aspects of their being here. Continual chipping away at the problem around the edges costs more money than securing our borders and making an all out effort to stop illegal immigration and deport all illegal immigrants here now. Cherry picking one illegal alien over another ,,, deciding this illegal alien is a good illegal and this one is a bad illegal is not a rational means of immigration enforcement. It gives the perception that a person can come here illegally and evade deportation if you can manage to fit within certain categories and criteria of status of being illegal.
Being in the country illegally should not be a matter of degree and now advocates for illegals complain a blind eye has been turned for so long ,,, it is the fault of those who turned the blind eye,,, and illegals should be given a pass. Those of us who oppose amnesty are trying to do what we are accused of not doing in the past,,, despite the fact many of us HAVE been trying for years to get the federal government to enforce immigration laws and deport ALL illegals when found.
For years we have been opposed by illegal advocates ,,, all the while being accused of allowing them to remain here through lack of enforcement effort??????????? We are only trying to do what you have told us we should have done 25 years ago.
Mary Muna via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Force companies to post jobs with TWC for openings instead of just hiring friends of immigrants, especially those who are here illegally.
K FISH
Has anyone from the criminally negligent 'Center for American Progress' press done the research of HOW MUCH IT IS COSTING OUR BANKRUPT SOCIAL SERVICES to leave the 'illegal' here in the US and TEXAS???
gypsy314 ne
Horse crap send them packing and hire Americans. This is fuzzy math by liberals I say illegal aliens are cost Texas citizens in all areas not counting all the crime and deaths from illegal aliens. They come hear protesting on American soil and think they have American rites to protest our laws and try to change our laws to fit there needs and take advantage of our kindness and then say they have the right to bring there kids here to use our schools and welfare to take care of there children and then leave them here for us to support on our tax payer money. Folks there something wrong with this picture. Oh if you say anything against them your a racist. Well call me a racist. I support legal immigration not illegal immigration. Bottom line some leaders in Texas are scared to stand up for our laws even if it may bring them heart ache from liberals and democrats that want nothing more then to pander to groups like La rasa. Perry is weak he should have stop all welfare and funds to illegal aliens in our state and if ICE will not deport them deliver them to Washington to the white house so Obama can support them. Not one more cent for illegal aliens and if Perry does not stop all aid to illegal aliens ship his sorry ass out of office next election or do a recall on him.
Michael Licavoli
Sounds like a bargain...
Juan Reynoso
MR. Aguilar, like many Mexicans that live in Texas, believe that the cost of the deportation of illegal aliens, should be a good reason to void our immigration laws, trash our sovereign and our Constitution. They are the Americans that claim that Mexico was stolen by the United States, they are the ones that support, La Raza, LULAC, Mecha and the rest of the Mexicans that want to make this United States a third world country. The truth is that this invasion of Mexicans cost the Texas Taxpayers billions of Dollars, Schools average $8, Per student, Food stamps millions per month, medical service, millions per month, criminal incarceration and court cost billions per year.
Obama, the US Dept. of Justice, Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano and the Hispanic caucus are the ones that lie to the American people. We do not have to deport any one, just close the door for jobs, social service and not medical services for illegal aliens and their children. They are here to take advantage of jobs and all the free services they get at the expenses of the American taxpayers. any one that say that they contribute to our economic is play ignorant, because today any one that earn 18 Thousand and have a family of 2- 3 or 4 will pay zero taxes and the sales tax that the state will collect from them do not cover the cost of the service they get for free. Our school children are the most affected because teacher can not do their jobs, most years the curriculum are not cover 100% teachers are lucky if they are able to cover 50%, that is why our education is failing.
Mr. Aguillar what will you say to your children when they will not be able to get a job and support their families?. I am asking you this because we are going down, our economic will collapse and 80% of the good working Americans will become economic slaves, just like in Mexico. The only thing I say; God save us from our own demise, because people like you are the ones that are destroying our country. We are American and nothing else.
Juan Reynoso
What Americans need to do is start a revolution and get all the traitors out of this United States; Washington and some of the States legislators are corrupt, not to mention the News Media; people in this United States do not know the truth about what this corrupt Government is all about. They want to destroy our country to form the North American Union and take advantage of the natural and human resources of Mexico, The USA and Canada, not Borders, not Constitution and only one law, the law that will be set and control by the makers of this Union, the multinational corporations, the Banks and financing system; it is all about money. Not one want to believe that we are being brain wash by the corrupt news media they fail to tell the truth to the American people.
God save us from our own demise.