But what do low-skilled immigrants cost America? Everything has its costs, of course. According to a new analysis by Robert Rector of the conservative Heritage Foundation, the average low-skilled immigrant household received $30,160 in direct benefits, means-tested benefits, education, and other services from all levels of government in 2004.
By contrast, low-skill immigrant households paid only $10,573 in taxes that year, meaning the average low-skill household had a fiscal deficit of $19,588. And what about retirement costs? Rector estimates that if all the current adult illegal immigrants in the United States were granted amnesty, the net retirement costs to government (benefits minus taxes) could be over $2.5 trillion.
People who say that "Mexicans do the jobs that Americans won't" never seem to understand that wages matter. The fact that Mexicans will do certain jobs at low wages (and often without paying taxes) does not imply that those jobs would not be done otherwise. Do you think big farmers would let crops rot in the fields rather than pay a bit more to poor American workers? Sure, prices might go up, but the jobs will get done (unless the labor is economically not worth paying for -- at which point, you can expect automation to take over). The point is, we don't "need" illegal immigrants. Some businesses want them here to keep wages low. The costs are borne by the rest of society. That's why most citizens, including legal immigrants, are against amnesty for illegals.
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