Washington, D.C. (September 5, 2024) — A new Center for Immigration Studies analysis highlights the significant financial burden on localities created by the continued illegal immigration caused by the administration’s policies.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an additional $380 million allocation to localities through its Shelters and Services Program (SSP). This funding is meant to help offset some of the fallout local governments face because of the high level of illegal immigration.
Key points include:
- $380 million SSP allocation: DHS is distributing these funds to localities that are providing support to recently released inadmissible migrants. This comes just four months after a previous $259.13 million in SSP grants.
- Fiscal Year 2023 expenditures: Over $780 million was distributed through the SSP and FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Humanitarian Awards (EFSP-H) to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and localities.
- Costs to federal agencies: The expenses don't stop with the SSP grants. DHS, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) incur massive costs for processing and managing illegal immigration, including transportation, shelter, medical care, legal proceedings, and more.
- Impact on legal immigration system: Open-borders policies have created historic backlogs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), further exacerbating costs and frustrations for legal immigration applicants.
- Public benefit costs: Migrants who enter the U.S. illegally may become eligible for taxpayer-funded public benefits, adding to the financial burden. This includes benefits for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.
- Ineffective foreign aid: The Biden-Harris administration has sent $4 billion to Central America to address the "root causes" of illegal immigration, yet these efforts have not significantly deterred illegal immigration to the U.S.
Elizabeth Jacobs, the Center’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy, said: “The fiscal impacts of illegal immigration continue to grow, and the latest DHS funding allocation is just a fraction of the overall costs. As the immigration crisis deepens, localities and federal agencies are left grappling with the mounting expenses.”
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