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Article: Illegal immigrants cost United States billions, study says.
- Article from:
- Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
- Article date:
- August 26, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Daily News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Lisa Friedman
Aug. 26--WASHINGTON -- Poorly educated and often unskilled, illegal immigrants cost the federal government more than $10 billion annually, and the net cost would nearly triple to $29 billion if they became legalized, according to a report released Wednesday.
The report, by a group that advocates tighter border controls, debunked the conventional wisdom that illegal immigrants don't pay payroll taxes. More than half of them are employed on the record, and they pay about $16 billion annually in federal taxes, but they receive far more in federally subsidized services -- about $26 billion, the report authors said.
"The ...