In the current 'debate' over illegal immigration and its horrific consequences, we are saddled with a situation that is 'upside down'.

 

A Hidden Tax: What Americans Are Really Paying for Illegal Immigration

By Christian Vezilj www.americanthinker.com

This entire exercise is a thought experiment, an attempt to look at illegal immigration through the lens of simplicity. Regardless of whether the numbers are distorted, underinflated, or politically manipulated, the point remains: the cost to the U.S. taxpayer is enormous. It takes away from their children’s future, their retirement security, and their ability to pay monthly bills. This is not a partisan rant, it’s a segmented breakdown of a quiet crisis.

In a time when families are tightening budgets and questioning every dollar spent, one cost remains largely invisible, yet it drains billions from our economy and erodes the moral foundation of our republic. That cost is illegal immigration. Not the emotional narrative, not the political theater, but the real, measurable, taxpayer-funded burden that most Americans haven’t been told they’re carrying.

Let’s start with the numbers. 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.

Many Americans genuinely empathize with the plight of migrants fleeing hardship. That’s a noble instinct. But good intentions without truth lead to systemic collapse. Supporting illegal immigration while obstructing enforcement is like funding a leak while refusing to patch it. It’s unsustainable, unjust, and ultimately self-defeating.

Others support illegal immigration as a symbol of inclusivity or anti-racism. They fear being labeled intolerant or xenophobic. But civic clarity demands more than virtue signaling. It demands honesty about what kind of legacy we’re building. Are we a nation of laws or a nation of loopholes? Are we protecting our citizens or placating our conscience?

Still others benefit economically from cheap labor in agriculture, construction, or domestic services. Their support is self-interested, not ideological. But even they must reckon with the long-term consequences: wage suppression, overcrowded schools, strained hospitals, and rising housing costs.

And then there are those who simply don’t know. The cost isn’t itemized on a tax return. It’s not explained in nightly news segments. It’s buried in budget line items and bureaucratic reports. Most families feel the squeeze but don’t connect the dots. They see rising costs, declining services, and growing frustration, but they’re told it’s inflation, not immigration.

And here’s the question every American must ask: Did you sign up for this? Did you vote for this? Because if you didn’t, then why are you paying for it?

If you support illegal immigration, if you believe it’s morally right to subsidize people who entered the country unlawfully, then I have a suggestion: you pay for it. Not me. I would rather use my hard-earned money to support my family, my retirement, my children’s education, and their future. I work hard for the money I earn, and I did not work to give it away to complete strangers who are illegally in the country. That’s just not right.

For those who support this system, I urge you to step back and think. Open your mind. Are you truly okay with this? Are you okay with families struggling to pay rent while billions are diverted to subsidize illegal entry? Are you okay with overcrowded classrooms, strained hospitals, and suppressed wages all while being told you’re heartless if you object?

If you are okay with it, then you pay. But don’t force the rest of us to carry the burden of your ideology. Don’t hide behind slogans while others sacrifice their solvency.

Illegal immigration is not just a border issue. It’s a budget issue. A fairness issue. A legacy issue. It affects every taxpayer, every community, and every future generation. And it demands a reckoning, not with emotion, but with truth.

We must ask: What kind of republic are we preserving if we reward lawbreaking and punish accountability? What kind of legacy are we leaving if we subsidize displacement and silence dissent? What kind of moral clarity are we modeling if we confuse compassion with collapse?

It’s time to restore the debate. Not with anger, but with logic. Not with slogans, but with facts. Not with guilt, but with courage. Because the hidden tax of illegal immigration is not just financial, it’s philosophical. And if we don’t confront it, we risk losing not just our solvency, but our soul.