Researchers at the Huffines Liberty Foundation conducted a study to look into how much taxpayer money unlawful migrants are costing Texas taxpayers.
The study found it cost Texas $6.6 billion to educate unlawful migrants at public schools during the 2022-2023 academic year. Additionally, related law enforcement costs were estimated to be $1.7 billion, in addition to the $2.6 billion allocated for border security.
To determine the figures, researchers applied the per pupil cost of students in Texas schools to the more than 474,000 children without citizenship or legal residency attending public schools. Estimates of criminal justice costs were determined using the rate of unlawful migrants engaging with the system. The border security cost came through an analysis of the state’s budget.
Furthermore, the estimated annual medical costs covered by Texas for unlawful migrants ranged from $671 million to $845 million, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
Don Huffines, a former Texas state senator and current president of the Huffines Liberty Foundation, blamed President Joe Biden for the crisis at the border that has seemingly cost Texas taxpayers billions of dollars.
“The United States government under the Biden administration has essentially eliminated robust security across our national border, making the final leg of an illegal alien’s difficult journey much easier,” he wrote in an op-ed published by the Daily Caller. “But it’s really the benefits of living in America that are exerting the gravitational pull. Indeed, most of the benefits illegal aliens take advantage of in the United States come from the government in the form of services and welfare.”
Unlawful migrant encounters at the southern border hit an all-time high of 260,000 in September, according to Fox News.
Biden said last week that border walls do not work — a statement made after his administration approved additional border wall construction.
“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week, per The Hill.
Mayorkas then backtracked his statement to align better with Biden’s declaration that walls do not work.
“From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer,” Mayorkas said. “That remains our position, and our position has never wavered.”
The Biden administration responded to the increased number of unlawful migrants by asking Congress to fund more border patrol agents, The New York Times reported.
He requested an additional $4 billion for 4,000 more troops, 1,500 more officers, overtime pay for federal border patrol officers, and new technology to detect illegal drugs.
The administration also resumed deportations of Venezuelans.
Relatedly, Gov. Greg Abbott just hit a milestone, having bused 50,000 unlawful migrants to different cities across the country since April 2022, according to Axios.
Abbott’s office told the news outlet that over 1,130 buses have been sent north. The bus program, conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard, aims to reduce pressure on Texas border towns and raise awareness of the border crisis.