U.S. Bishops Want You To Bear The Hidden Costs Of Supporting Illegal Immigration

Conservative estimates suggest there are over 20 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States. Now consider what it costs to support a family of four in America. Between housing, healthcare, education, food, and transportation, the average annual cost ranges from $85,000 to $100,000. Even if illegal immigrant households receive only a fraction of these services, the cumulative cost is staggering. According to recent data, the federal government spends roughly $150 billion annually on illegal immigration, net of tax contributions. State and local governments add another $140 to $180 billion. That’s a combined total of up to $330 billion per year, which many believe is much higher.

Divide that by the number of U.S. taxpayers—about 150 million—and you get a hidden tax of $2,200 per person, or $4,400 per family. And that’s conservative. If the true population of illegal immigrants is closer to 25 or 30 million, the cost per family could exceed $6,000 annually. That’s money not spent on your children’s schools, your roads, your healthcare, or your retirement. It’s a quiet siphoning of resources from citizens to subsidize a system that rewards lawbreaking and punishes accountability.

Some argue that illegal immigrants pay taxes. That may be true in part, through payroll deductions, sales taxes, and even property taxes indirectly. But this argument misses the deeper point. Every job held by someone unlawfully present is a job not held by a citizen or legal resident. That displaced American, now unemployed or underemployed, may rely on public assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, housing subsidies, funded by the same taxpayers who are told illegal immigrants are “contributing.” The net effect is not neutral. It’s a fiscal and moral deficit.

So why do many families still support illegal immigration or oppose enforcement agencies like ICE? The answer lies in emotional framing, ideological signaling, and media distortion. Compassion is weaponized. Enforcement is demonized. And the cost, both financial and structural, is buried beneath slogans and sentiment.

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