Freedom

Story by Josh Christenson 

Americans could pay up to $451 billion to care for migrants who entered the US illegally, but have been released into the country or escaped from custody, according to a new report due out Monday from House Republicans and obtained exclusively by The Post.

“Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies,” the House Homeland Security Committee interim staff report states.

“Only a small fraction is ever recouped from the taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and lawful residents,” it adds.

Compiled from federal and state records, media reports and other public information, the 50-page document outlines the taxpayer costs incurred in medical care, housing, education and other welfare benefits for tens of millions of migrants — to say nothing of the additional costs for law enforcement.

“This report reveals in painstaking detail the dollar costs facing the American people every day that this chaos continues, both in small towns on the border and in big cities like New York,” Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) told The Post.

House Republicans released a report on Monday totaling the “historic” costs of the Biden administration’s border policies, saying US taxpayers could pay up to $451 billion.AFP via Getty Images

The House Homeland Security Committee interim staff report blames Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies for the crisis. Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

The bill for government care and housing could total as much as $451 billion per year nationwide for apprehended migrants and known “gotaways” who have entered the US since 2021, according to figures the House panel cites from the Center for Immigration Studies.

Between 16.8 million and 29 million illegal immigrants currently reside in the US, according to estimates the committee cites from the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and Yale University, 3.8 million of which have entered since President Biden took office in January 2021.

Since 2021, government care and housing could total as much as $451 billion nationwide for apprehended migrants and known “gotaways,” according to the Center for Immigration Studies. New York Post

Mayorkas revealed during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing last month that more than 600,000 migrants have come into the country in fiscal year 2023 without being apprehended by border agents.

That’s in addition to another 900,000 who entered the US legally and applied for asylum before being released, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.

Biden, 80, asked Congress last month to pass $14 billion in additional border security funding to aid the processing of migrants, reimburse state and local governments and non-governmental organizations and provide other services.

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green told The Post “This report reveals in painstaking detail the dollar costs facing the American people every day that this chaos continues, both in small towns on the border and in big cities like New York.” CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Republican committee members added that FAIR also found in a comprehensive study this year that federal, state, and local costs of illegal immigration amount to around $182 billion annually — with aliens defraying just $31 billion of that cost in tax revenue.

According to FAIR’s report, state governments are paying $115 billion of that total, while the federal government chips in just $66 billion.

By comparison, the group found in a 2017 study that the topline cost for illegal immigration into the US was $135 billion.

President Biden in October asked Congress to pass $14 billion in additional border security funds to aid the processing of migrants, among other services. AP

The Biden administration has barred migrants from most federal health programs, while states such as California or Illinois and cities like New York have seen their benefit programs stretched to the breaking point.

Mayor Eric Adams said in August that total migrant costs could soar to $12 billion of the next three years as Gotham grapples with feeding, housing, educating and even doing laundry for an influx of hundreds of thousands from the southern border.

Hospital and emergency room visits rank as among the highest costs incurred by illegal immigrants — a fact substantiated by testimony from medical experts.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in August that over the next three years total migrant costs could soar to $12 billion. Jose Jacome/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“Migrants often require three times the number of human resources to resolve their cases and provide them with a safe discharge,” Dr. Robert Trenschel, chief executive officer of Yuma Regional Medical Hospital in Arizona, told the committee in February.

“Some migrants come to us with minor ailments but many of them come in with significant disease. We have had migrant patients on dialysis, cardiac catheterization and in need of heart surgery. Many are very sick. They have long-term complications of chronic disease that have not been cared for.”

Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines also told the committee in September that the influx has forced US citizens to travel miles away from their homes to receive medical care.

New York City is struggling to feed, house, educate and even do laundry for an influx of hundreds of thousands from the southern border. Gregory P. Mango

“We have seen women approaching the border in labor, I’ve witnessed that multiple times, to the point where our emergency room and our maternity ward was overrun,” he said.

“I had several people tell me that they had to travel to San Diego or to Phoenix to deliver their baby or to have regular surgery that had been scheduled that had been put off.”

Education costs for at least 3.8 million illegal aliens who have limited proficiency in English totaled $59 billion, according to FAIR.

“Mayorkas’ policies have enabled this mass waste and abuse of taxpayer resources. His policies and actions have encouraged millions of people to cross our borders illegally,” the report reads. REUTERS

Other data from the National Institute of Corrections and the Justice Department show state police expenditures on illegal immigration-related matters have jumped from $10.5 billion in 2017 to $19 billion now.

Monday’s report also noted the $1.5 trillion economic cost of the opioid crisis in 2020, according to Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, a sum driven largely by fentanyl imported from Mexican cartels.

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“From thousands of dollars in property damage caused by illegal aliens evading apprehension and millions of dollars for education, to billions of dollars for health care and luxury housing for aliens, Biden and Mayorkas’ refusal to enforce our nation’s laws is running up the tab—and American taxpayers are the ones on the hook,” Green said.

“It is long past time for this administration to end the reckless, lawless open-borders policies that are bankrupting communities across this country.”