How much did illegal immigrants cost the US in 2024

1. The headline dollar: $150.7 billion vs. CBO’s long‑run net gain

A Congressional Republican briefing and related reports have circulated a $150.7 billion annual “net” cost figure for illegal immigration in recent years, saying Americans pay roughly $182 billion in gross expenditures and receive about $31 billion in taxes from unauthorized migrants, producing the $150.7 billion shortfall ^{[1] [3]}. By contrast, the Congressional Budget Office finds that the post‑2021 immigration surge increases federal revenues by an estimated $1.2 trillion over 2024–2034 and, on net, lowers deficits by about $0.9 trillion in that period — an analysis that emphasizes long‑run budgetary effects and uncertainty in projections ^[2].

2. Different definitions produce different answers — short term vs. long term

The $150.7 billion figure is largely a point‑in‑time accounting of costs and receipts attributed to unauthorized immigrants and emphasizes immediate fiscal pressures on state and local budgets ^[1], whereas CBO’s work models dynamic demographic and economic effects over a decade, projecting large revenue gains as newcomers work and pay taxes, and warning that estimates are uncertain and that effects differ across jurisdictions ^{[2] [4]}.

3. Where the money is felt: states, cities, and special claims

Localities such as New York have reported multi‑billion dollar shelter and service bills — testimony cited estimates of $4.7 billion in 2023 and at least $6 billion in 2024 for New York City — and committees and county officials have highlighted concentrated fiscal stress in frontline jurisdictions ^[5]. Some analyses also single out Medicaid and emergency‑care spending as material drivers of short‑term costs, with committee releases citing CBO estimates of billions in Medicaid costs tied to recent migration ^[6].

4. Alternative evidence: net contribution and economic growth arguments

Think tanks and economic researchers point to offsetting or net positive effects: CBO projects that the immigration surge boosts GDP and increases revenues over time ^[2], and Cato emphasizes long‑run gains — citing CBO and NAS‑based work that immigrants can raise GDP and federal revenues substantially over years ^[7]. Recent academic updates argue immigrants generate near‑trillion‑dollar tax contributions and may pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits in aggregate, though distributional impacts vary ^[7].

5. Why the debate is political as well as technical

Estimates cluster by institutional perspective: Republican committees and advocacy groups highlight immediate fiscal burdens and produce headline net‑cost figures such as $150.7 billion to argue for policy changes ^{[1] [3]}, while CBO and some research institutions stress longer‑term budgetary gains and macroeconomic benefits ^{[2] [7]}. Each side’s methods, time horizon, and who pays (federal vs. state/local taxpayers) drive very different headline numbers, and analysts themselves note substantial uncertainty due to imperfect population counts and evolving policy choices ^{[8] [2]}.

Conclusion: the best answer to “how much did illegal immigrants cost the US in 2024”

There is no single uncontested dollar for 2024; conservative committee calculations put the annual net cost at about $150.7 billion (gross $182 billion, less $31 billion in taxes) for the current period ^[1], while nonpartisan CBO modeling indicates that the immigration surge will produce net fiscal benefits at the federal level over 2024–2034, adding $1.2 trillion in revenues and lowering deficits by about $0.9 trillion over that decade, and cautions that short‑term and state/local burdens differ from long‑run federal effects ^[2]. Reporting and policy analysis must therefore be read with attention to scope, timeframe, and institutional biases in the sources cited ^{[3] [7] [1] [2]}.