The freshest face of the Democratic Party, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), found another camera recently, and she made an interesting claim about deportations. Speaking in what looks like one of the back rooms in the House of Representatives, the controversial (putting it lightly) congresswoman railed against the current administration’s approach to illegal immigration. Using the euphemism “undocumented folk,” Crockett claimed that deportations should stop because illegal aliens pay “$100 billion” in taxes a year.
This is an argument that has become more popular lately, and it deserves a proper critique because you’re going to be hearing it a lot from Democrat politicians.
CROCKETT: To be clear, undocumented folk contribute approximately $100 billion in taxes. They pay into social security, and they don’t get to draw down on it. So stop, again, allowing them to divide us and to demonize them.
Since she mentions Social Security, let’s start with the obvious. How does an illegal immigrant manage to pay into that program without committing fraud? Social Security numbers are only given to citizens and permanent residents. So is the argument that criminality is fine as long as you contribute taxes along the way? Because that sure seems like the argument.
It’s the specific number Crockett cited that caught my eye the most, though. In context, how much is $100 billion in taxes? To answer that question, you have to consider how much the United States federal government spends every year. In 2024, fiscal outlays totaled around $7 trillion dollars. That means illegal immigrants contribute just 1.43 percent toward total annual expenditures. That already doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you consider that illegal immigrants make up 6.25 percent of the population (using the commonly accepted estimate that there are 20 million of them in the country), then their contributions become even more minuscule.
But wait, there’s more. That $100 billion number Crockett is citing is actually from a 2022 study conducted by the Institution on Taxation and Economic Policy, and it includes state and local taxes paid as well. So the above percentage I cited is actually much less on the federal level, and when you dig deeper, illegal immigrants only contribute around $25 billion to Social Security. How much does that entitlement cost taxpayers a year? The answer is a whopping $1.7 trillion, meaning illegal immigrants pay for just 1.47 percent of Social Security. That is the supposedly massive, irreplaceable contribution to the program that Crockett and other Democrats are asserting should override immigration laws.
I could stop right there, having already thoroughly debunked Crockett’s talking point as viable, but there’s another aspect to consider. That is, how much illegal immigrants cost. While they are broadly disqualified from various welfare programs, dozens of loopholes have allowed outlays to happen anyway. For example, in 2023, it was estimated that the federal government spent $66 billion on illegal immigrants for medical care and various entitlements like food stamps. That doesn’t even count how much it costs to house, clothe, and feed those who are being detained at various Customs and Border Patrol facilities.
In short, Crockett’s math doesn’t begin to add up. The federal government is likely spending more on illegal immigrants than they are contributing to the federal government, and you can bet the same is true of state and local governments, many of which are left funding shelters and other programs as people in need fill their communities. To suggest otherwise is not only to abscond from the facts but also to dismiss illegal behavior, which alone should carry weight no matter what taxes are paid. Consider this talking point dead.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
Editor’s Note: The left is in panic mode thanks to President Trump halting its dishonest, backdoor, taxpayer funding.
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