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How much does it cost taxpayers to support illegal immigrants
Executive summary
Estimates of the taxpayer cost of “illegal immigration” vary widely: a 2024 FAIR study puts the annual fiscal burden at roughly $151 billion and calculates a per-taxpayer hit near $1,156 ($957 after accounting for taxes paid by undocumented immigrants) [1] [2]. Other analyses and actors give sharply different numbers — for example, the Manhattan Institute estimates an average 30‑year net fiscal cost of about $80,000 per unlawful immigrant, while advocacy groups and government offices estimate both much smaller and much larger state‑level figures [3] [4] [5]. Available sources do not mention a single, agreed‑upon total; results depend on methodology, time horizon, and which costs and revenues are counted (not found in current reporting).
1. Big differences come from what analysts count
Different reports count different items: FAIR’s 2023/2024 cost study focuses on public services and benefits and produces an annual fiscal‑burden figure (~$151 billion) and a per‑taxpayer estimate ($1,156) by dividing that burden across U.S. taxpayers [1] [2]. By contrast, Manhattan Institute’s 2025 update models lifetime fiscal impacts per immigrant and reports an average 30‑year net fiscal cost of about $80,000 for an unlawful immigrant — a fundamentally different unit and time frame [3]. The American Immigration Council frames costs to the government from proposed mass‑deportation policies (tens of billions to nearly a trillion to carry out large removal operations), again counting different activities [4]. These divergent scopes explain much of the disagreement [1] [3] [4].
2. Who produces the numbers — and why that matters
The organizations behind the figures have clear perspectives: FAIR and the House Republican Budget Committee emphasize border enforcement and savings from restricting benefits and thus highlight large fiscal costs to taxpayers [1] [6]. Think tanks like the Manhattan Institute use long‑run fiscal modeling to argue that legal immigration is fiscally positive while unlawful immigration is net‑negative per person [3]. Advocacy groups such as the American Immigration Council emphasize the enormous cost of large‑scale deportation campaigns to caution against mass removal [4]. Each group’s goals — advocacy, policy influence, or budget oversight — shape what they measure and how they present results [1] [3] [4].
3. Taxes paid by undocumented immigrants change the math
Analyses that include taxes paid by undocumented immigrants reduce net cost estimates. FAIR’s per‑taxpayer number falls from $1,156 to about $957 after accounting for taxes they pay; other work (ITEP, American Immigration Council) documents that undocumented people do pay substantial state and local taxes, sales taxes, payroll taxes (including through ITIN filings), and often pay effective state/local tax rates comparable with higher earners [2] [7] [8]. Available sources do not present a universally accepted net figure that reconciles all such tax contributions across studies [2] [7].
4. Enforcement, detention and deportation impose additional costs
Reports focused on enforcement emphasize per‑case costs for arrest, detention, and removal. Recent coverage cites an average ICE cost per deportation in the ballpark of $17,121, and studies projecting mass deportation find government costs could be tens of billions annually (and up to nearly $1 trillion over time for large sustained operations) [9] [4]. Those figures illustrate that policy choices — enforcement intensity vs. legalization or integration — materially affect taxpayer spending [9] [4].
5. State and local estimates vary and can be substantial
State auditing offices produce their own localized totals. For example, Mississippi’s auditor estimated illegal immigration costs to that state at over $100 million annually, driven by education, health care, and public safety spending [5]. These state estimates are narrower in scope and sensitive to local demographics, school enrollments, and Medicaid rules, so they cannot be extrapolated to a national total without caution [5].
6. What’s missing and how policymakers interpret the numbers
Available sources show no single authoritative national consensus; methodology — annual vs. lifetime horizon, inclusion of indirect economic effects, whether children born in the U.S. are counted, and whether enforcement costs are included — drives outcomes [1] [3] [4]. Policymakers selectively cite studies that support their policy goals: budget hawks stress large fiscal burdens, immigrant‑rights groups highlight taxes paid and economic contributions or the costs of harsh enforcement [1] [8] [4].
7. Bottom line for readers
If you need a concise figure, cite the study that matches the policy question: FAIR’s approximate $151 billion annual fiscal burden and ~$1,156 per taxpayer metric is one widely cited estimate for 2022–2023 [1] [2]; Manhattan Institute gives an average 30‑year per‑person fiscal cost of ~$80,000 for unlawful immigrants [3]; removal‑cost studies put mass‑deportation price tags in the tens or hundreds of billions [4]. Because methodologies and agendas differ, use the specific study’s scope and assumptions when quoting any single number [1] [3] [4].