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A Case Study: Illegal Immigration
by Congressman J. Randy Forbes
Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District
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Illegal immigration is
not a new problem, but a problem that has existed
throughout our nation’s history. Nevertheless, today our
nation stands at a crossroads on illegal immigration. The
decisions that we make today will directly impact our
families for generations to come.
America is a nation of
immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. The question
that we must answer today is whether or not we are going
to allow people who have disregarded the laws of our land
to dictate the policy and future of our country. With
increasing unrest about immigration policy in our country,
it is more important than ever that we fully understand
the problem and the long-term implications of the actions that
we take today.
We must send the message
that our loyalty as a country is to those that have made
it great – to those who legitimately worked their way into
our country because they share our core belief that entry
into the United States is not a right, but a privilege.
Each of us may not have a personal story on how illegal
immigration affects our daily lives, but each of us can
already feel the effects on crime, education, health care
and many other areas.
As your Representative in
Congress and member of the Immigration Reform Caucus, I am
working to ensure that our borders are staffed, our laws
are enforced and the legal rights of U.S. Citizens are
being protected. I have prepared this publication to
answer the most common questions regarding illegal
immigration that are coming into my office. Please take a
moment to review this information, and to send me your
comments and thoughts on the direction you think our
nation should take in this immigration crisis.
With kind personal regards, I
am
Yours
truly,
J. Randy
Forbes
Member of
Congress |
The Problem of Illegal
Immigration
Effects of Illegal
Immigration
Health care:
- In
some hospitals, as much as two-thirds of total
operating costs are for uncompensated care for
illegal aliens. (Read more:
The Sinking Lifeboat: Uncontrolled Immigration and
the U.S. Healthcare System - Executive Summary
FAIR)
- The
utilization rate of hospitals and clinics by illegal
aliens (29 percent) is more than twice the rate of
the overall U.S. population (11 percent).
(Read more:
Illegal Immigration
and Public Health
FAIR)
- Uninsured
illegal aliens cost $2.2 billion annually to the
health care system.
(Read More:
The High Cost of Cheap Labor Illegal Immigration and
the Federal Budget, Center for Immigration Studies
CIS) |
Education:
- The
total K-12 school expenditure for illegal immigrants
costs the states nearly $12 billion annually, and
when the children born here to illegal aliens are
added, the costs more than double to $28.6 billion.
(Read
more:
Breaking the Piggy
Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools
Into the Red
FAIR)
-
In Virginia,
there was an estimated cost of $188.7 million spent
on illegal alien children and $264.2 million spent
on children born to illegal aliens. This brings the
total cost to educate these children to $452.9
million.
(Read more:
Breaking the Piggy
Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools
Into the Red
FAIR)
- California
spends an estimated $2.2 billion annually — more
than any other state — to educate illegal immigrant
children.
(Read more:
Breaking the Piggy
Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools
Into the Red
FAIR) |
Economy:
- Households
headed by illegal aliens imposed more than $26.3
billion in costs on the federal government in 2002
and paid only $16 billion in taxes, creating a net
fiscal deficit of almost $10.4 billion, or $2,700
per illegal household. (Read more:
The High Cost of Cheap Labor Illegal Immigration and
the Federal Budget, Center for Immigration Studies
CIS)
- The
annual net cost of illegal immigrants to the
American taxpayer is likely to be more than $45
billion today. (Read more:
What's Wrong With
Illegal Immigration?
FAIR)
- A
study in 1996 of the costs of illegal immigration by
Rice University economist, Dr. Donald Huddle, found
that illegal aliens were displacing roughly 730,000
American workers every year, at a cost of about $4.3
billion a year. (Read more:
What's Wrong With
Illegal Immigration?
FAIR)
- For
every 100 illegal aliens who find jobs in the U.S.,
65 American workers are displaced.
(Read more:
What's Wrong With
Illegal Immigration?
FAIR)
- Illegal
aliens have created an underground economy estimated
to be about $970 billion, or nearly 9% of the real
economy, and it is not being taxed.
(Read more:
The Underground Economy: Illegal
Immigrants and Others Working Off the Books Cost the
U.S. Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Unpaid Taxes
Wall Street Journal) |
Public Assistance:
- The
cost of illegal aliens to Medicaid is said to be
$2.5 billion annually. (Read more:
The High Cost of Cheap Labor Illegal Immigration and
the Federal Budget, Center for Immigration Studies
CIS)
- Food
assistance programs used by illegals such as food
stamps, Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program,
and free school lunches cost $1.9 billion annually.
(Read more:
The High Cost of Cheap Labor Illegal Immigration and
the Federal Budget, Center for Immigration Studies
CIS) |
Crime:
-
Approximately 27.5 percent of all federal prisoners
are criminal aliens (illegal aliens and legal aliens
who are convicted of committing a crime). (Read more:
Information on Criminal Aliens Incarcerated in
Federal and State Prisons and Local Jails
GAO)
- Illegal
aliens sentenced in federal courts were more likely
than legal aliens or U.S. citizens to have at least
one prior conviction resulting in a sentence of at
least 60 days. (Read more:
Illegal Aliens in Federal, State, and Local Criminal
Justice Systems
Urban Institute)
- In
an April 2005 study, the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) found that the number of criminal
aliens incarcerated in federal facilities increased
from about 42,000 at the end of calendar year 2001
to about 49,000 at the end of calendar year 2004– a
15 percent increase.
(Read more:
Information on Criminal Aliens Incarcerated in
Federal and State Prisons and Local Jails
GAO)
- GAO
estimated the federal cost of incarcerating criminal
aliens totaled approximately $5.8 billion for
calendar years 2001 through 2004. (Read more:
Information on Criminal Aliens Incarcerated in
Federal and State Prisons and Local Jails GAO)
- In
a population sample study of 55,322 illegal aliens
completed in May 2005, GAO found that the aliens
studied had been arrested approximately 459,614
times, averaging about 8 arrests per illegal alien.
(Read
more:
Information on
Certain Illegal Aliens Arrested in the United States
GAO) |
Where I Stand on Illegal
Immigration
- I
am opposed to amnesty; provisions in the Senate bill
amount to amnesty. I am unequivocally opposed to the
Senate bill in its current form.
-
Illegal
immigration is a crime and we need to penalize those
that break our laws.
- Entry
into the United States is not a right, but a
privilege.
- Illegal
immigration seriously undermines legal immigration.
- Illegal
aliens often displace American workers, and by
supplying cheap labor, they depress the wages and
working conditions of the working poor in our
country.
- Our
priority as a nation should be defending America’s
borders and enforcing our laws, not accommodating
those who break them.
- We
must fully staff our borders and close immigration
loopholes.
-
I support
making English the official language of the U.S.
- To
combat employers who hire illegal immigrants, I
support increasing financial penalties to discourage
this practice.
- I
support increasing penalties for alien smuggling.
-
We must
provide our border sheriffs and federal law
enforcement officers with the resources they need to
combat illegal immigration.
- I
support building a fence along our border to
discourage illegal immigration on our Southern
border.
- I
am opposed to the current system of “catch and
release” – we need to immediately deport illegals
when they are caught at the border. |
Legislation I am Championing to Solve Our Immigration
Crisis
- Comprehensive
Immigration Reform
- Cosponsored legislation to hold violators of
immigration laws accountable, including employers
who hire illegal aliens, those who smuggle human
beings, and illegal aliens who are vicious gang
members. (Read
more:
H.R. 4437)
- Border
Patrol Agent Increases
- Supported legislation to increase the current
number of border patrol officers and triple the
number of immigration enforcement agents to fully
control the border. (Read
more:
H.R. 4437)
- Citizenship
Reform Act –
Cosponsored
legislation to deny citizenship at birth to children
born in the United States of parents who are not
citizens or permanent resident aliens.
(Read
more:
H.R. 698)
- Troops
on the Border –
Cosponsored legislation to
authorize
the Secretary of Defense to assign members of the
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to assist
the Department of Homeland Security in the
performance of border protection functions.
(Read
more:
H.R. 1986)
- Security
Fence for the Southern Border
– Cosponsored legislation to create a border
security fence from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of
Mexico. (Read
more:
H.R. 4083)
- Empower
Local Law Enforcement
- Cosponsored
legislation to allow state and local law enforcement
to enforce federal immigration laws. (Read
more:
H.R. 3137)
- Alien
Gang Removal Act
– Introduced
legislation to designate aliens who are members of
violent criminal gangs as an inadmissible and
deportable class under the Immigration and
Nationality Act.
(Read more:
H.R. 2933)
- English
Language Unity Act
– Supported legislation that declares English as the
official language of the United States and requires
the official functions of the United States to be
conducted in English. (Read
more:
H.R. 997)
- Real
ID Act –
Cosponsored and voted for legislation that addresses
border security and immigration reform provisions
that were dropped from the 9/11 Commission
legislation conference report. (Read
more:
H.R. 418)
- Diversity
Visa –
Cosponsored legislation to eliminate the diversity
visa immigrant program. (Read
more:
H.R. 1219)
- Matricula
Consular Cards
– Cosponsored legislation that would prohibit the
federal government from accepting matricula consular
cards as proof of identity. (Read more:
H.R. 925)
- Federal
Contractor Security Act
– Supported legislation to require federal
contractors to participate in a pilot program for
employment eligibility confirmation to prevent
hiring illegal aliens especially in high-security or
federal work. (Read
more:
H.R. 2049) |
Thank
you for allowing me to share this information with you. I
value your thoughts and concerns. Please contact me in my
Washington DC office at (202) 225-6365 or online at
www.house.gov/forbes
to let
me know how you think Congress should address illegal
immigration. |
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307 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING |
505 INDEPENDENCE PKWY, SUITE 104 |
2903 BOULEVARD, SUITE B |
425 H. SOUTH MAIN STREET |
WASHINGTON, DC 20515 |
CHESAPEAKE, VA 23322 |
COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA 23834 |
EMPORIA, VA 23847 |
PHONE
202/225-6365 |
PHONE 757/382-0080 |
PHONE 804/526-4969 |
PHONE 434/634-5575 |
FAX 202/226-1170 |
FAX 757/382-0780 |
FAX 804/526-7486 |
FAX 434/634-0511 | |