Washington, D.C. (April 5, 2021) – A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies highlights the added cost to Social Security and Medicare that would result from any bill passed by the U.S. Congress providing legal status and a path to citizenship to illegal immigrants. Under current law, illegal immigrants are net contributors to Social Security and Medicare because they partially pay in to entitlement programs but cannot legally receive benefits. By granting eligibility for benefits, however, amnesty would transform illegal immigrants from net contributors into net beneficiaries, imposing steep costs on the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.
Jason Richwine, resident scholar at the Center and author of the report, said, "Amnesty transforms illegal immigrants from net contributors to net beneficiaries of our entitlement programs. It is important to acknowledge this large added cost, but the CBO's 10-year budget window will miss it."
Key findings:
- Amnesty would impose a lifetime net cost on Social Security and Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) of about $129,000 per amnesty recipient. This cost is the present discounted value of benefits received minus new taxes paid.
- If 10 million illegal immigrants receive amnesty, the total cost to Social Security and Medicare Part A would be roughly $1.3 trillion in present value, equivalent to a one-time transfer of 6 percent of GDP.
- Because most of these costs would occur outside its 10-year budget window, the Congressional Budget Office is unlikely to include them when it scores amnesty legislation.
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