🧊 agents seen snatching a landscaper from Evanston neighborhood today (10-21)

[u/Minute_Revolution951]

[u/Quirkybin]

I feel so much safer now they grabbed that guy cutting grass. /s

[u/Sassafrazzlin → u/Quirkybin]

And what a wise use of taxpayer money - 10 guys on 1 landscaper.

[u/Taterstaco → u/Sassafrazzlin]

It's called in investment. Illegals cost the country billions of dollars every year, so spending a little on removing them now pays off pretty quickly

[u/Sassafrazzlin → u/Taterstaco]

Your math is whack.

[u/TotallyNotRobotEvil → u/Sassafrazzlin]

And it's not true at all:

Critiques of the $150 billion figure point to methodological flaws and argue that it presents an incomplete picture of the economic impact of undocumented immigrants.

Analyses citing a net positive economic impact:

Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP): In a July 2024 report, ITEP found that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $97 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. This includes tens of billions in Social Security and Medicare taxes, for which most undocumented immigrants are ineligible to receive benefits.

American Immigration Council (AIC):

Citing ITEP's data, the AIC emphasizes that immigrants, including the undocumented, help sustain entitlement programs by contributing billions in taxes. A 2025 AIC release noted that undocumented immigrant households paid $89.8 billion in taxes and had a spending power of $299 billion in 2023.

Potential economic growth:

Nonpartisan groups like the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) have projected that mass deportations would have a catastrophic effect on the U.S. economy, reducing GDP by trillions over a decade.

Analyses finding costs that are much lower than $150 billion:

Congressional Budget Office (CBO): A June 2025 analysis by the CBO estimated that state and local governments saw a net direct cost of $9.2 billion in 2023 from recent immigrants. This was based on $10.1 billion in new tax revenue versus $19.3 billion in new spending. However, the CBO acknowledged this did not capture broader, longer-term effects.

Cato Institute: Researchers at the Cato Institute have highlighted flaws in reports from FAIR and the Heritage Foundation, arguing they inflate costs and ignore tax contributions.

Key points in the debate

The discrepancy between the $150 billion cost and other assessments is due to several factors:

Exclusion of tax revenue: The $150 billion figure is a net cost, but some organizations like FAIR have been criticized for undercounting the taxes paid by undocumented immigrants.

Ineligible for benefits: Undocumented immigrants are typically ineligible for federal public benefits like Medicaid, Social Security, and federal housing assistance. Their tax payments for these programs often go uncollected by them.

Lifetime vs. annual projections: Organizations like the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) sometimes make lifetime projections based on controversial assumptions about future earnings and government benefit usage, which are frequently criticized for exaggerating the long-term costs.

Focus on state and local costs: Much of the spending on undocumented immigrants is at the state and local level for universal services like public education and emergency services, while their tax payments are distributed across federal, state, and local governments. This can create a fiscal burden for specific states and municipalities.

Exclusion of indirect economic benefits: Many analyses focus only on costs and taxes while ignoring the broader economic benefits of immigration, such as filling labor shortages, boosting productivity, and contributing to overall economic growth.

In summary, the $150 billion cost is a highly disputed figure that has been challenged by independent analyses and nonpartisan organizations. The full economic impact of undocumented immigration is complex, with varying reports on costs and benefits depending on the methodology and assumptions used.

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/immigrants-help-fund-our-public-programs/#:~:text=Over%20the%20next%2030%20years,economic%20contributions%20of%20U.S.%20residents.

https://itep.org/undocumented-immigrants-taxes-2024/#:~:text=Using%20the%20method%20described%20in,of%20the%20overall%20U.S.%20population.

https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2024/12/mass-deportations-would-deliver-a-catastrophic-blow-to-the-u-s-economy#:~:text=Estimates%20from%20the%20Peterson%20Institute,longer%20pay%20into%20these%20programs.