Cost of undocumented immigrants on us taxpayers 2024
Executive summary
Estimates of the cost of undocumented (often called “illegal”) immigration to U.S. taxpayers in 2024 diverge widely: advocacy and research groups calculate that undocumented immigrants paid roughly $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 and would likely have raised contributions under broader work authorization (ITEP) [1], while advocacy and congressional Republican sources have published headline figures in the $150–$182 billion range for annual gross costs tied to “illegal immigration” (FAIR, House Budget Committee summaries) [2] [3]. Independent budget analyses from the Congressional Budget Office and summaries assembled by neutral outlets suggest the fiscal picture is complex—immigration raises both revenues and spending, and some CBO-based work projects net deficit reduction over a decade from recent migration increases (Wikipedia summary of CBO synthesis) [4].
1. Tax contributions that reduce net burden
Researchers at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 using ACS microdata and adjustments for undercounting, and they note tax contributions would likely rise if undocumented workers gained authorization and higher wages [1]. Other analysts and think tanks put tax receipts from unauthorized immigrants at notably lower levels when used in partisan cost accounting—FAIR’s materials and related House summaries report $32 billion in tax revenue from illegal immigrants, a figure cited in Republican committee releases [3].
2. Reported fiscal costs and how they’re calculated
Several reports circulating in 2023–2024 aggregate gross spending tied to unauthorized immigrants—covering public education, emergency medical care, law enforcement, shelter, and some benefits—and arrive at annual gross cost figures around $150–$182 billion (FAIR; House Budget Committee releases; Newsweek coverage) [2] [5] [6]. These tallies typically combine local, state, and federal spending lines without the same accounting for taxes paid by immigrants or for long‑term fiscal contributions such as payroll taxes and labor supply effects; some industry and congressional reports emphasize immediate budgetary outlays like emergency services and K‑12 education costs [5] [3].
3. CBO and neutral-budget context: revenues, spending, and the multi-year view
The CBO’s baseline work, as summarized in public syntheses, indicates that migration surges can increase federal revenues and mandatory spending and—over the 2024–2034 period—reduce cumulative federal deficits by about $0.9 trillion, with federal revenues rising by roughly $1.2 trillion across that decade largely from income and payroll taxes attributable to immigrants in the surge population [4]. That wider, multi‑year CBO view contrasts with single‑year gross cost calculations and highlights that short‑term discretionary pressures (border, DHS, and refugee resettlement funding) coexist with elastic revenue gains over time [4].
4. Why estimates differ: methods, definitions, and agendas
Differences trace to definitional choices (undocumented vs. “illegal alien” vs. recent migration surge), scope (gross spending vs. net fiscal impact), time horizon (single year vs. decade), data adjustments (undercount corrections in ACS), and model inputs (treatment of taxes paid, eligibility for benefits, and economic effects of legalization) [1] [2]. Partisan actors and advocacy groups—both restrictionist organizations like FAIR and budget committees that cite FAIR, and pro‑immigrant researchers like ITEP—tend to foreground numbers that advance policy arguments: cost‑focused reports emphasize gross spending and immediate local burdens [2] [3], while tax‑contribution analyses emphasize revenues and potential gains from work authorization [1].
5. Best single‑line synthesis and remaining uncertainties
A defensible short answer for 2024: headline gross cost tallies circulated by FAIR and some House reports place annual gross spending tied to unauthorized immigrants in the roughly $150–$182 billion range [2] [3], while independent tax‑contribution analyses find undocumented immigrants paid about $96.7 billion in taxes in 2022, and CBO‑style projections suggest migration increases can raise net federal revenues over a multi‑year horizon and even lower deficits [1] [4]. Significant uncertainty remains over population size (estimates vary), what benefits newly arrived people are eligible for, and how to value long‑run fiscal effects, so any single dollar figure should be treated as contingent on methodology rather than settled fact [1] [4] [2].
6. Bottom line and what readers should take away
The fiscal impact of undocumented immigration in 2024 cannot be summarized by a single uncontested number: there are credible, methodical estimates of tens of billions in taxes collected (ITEP) and competing credible tallies of $150+ billion in annual gross public expenditures (FAIR/House releases), while CBO‑style analyses show migration increases change both revenues and spending with important multi‑year fiscal offsets [1] [2] [4]. Readers should treat “cost” claims with attention to definitions and time frames, consult underlying methods, and note explicit policy preferences—both pro‑reform and restrictionist actors use selective metrics to bolster opposing arguments [1] [2] [3].