[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 14, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION'S IMPACT ON TAXPAYERS

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the impact illegal 
immigration has on taxpayers. Today, we have 11 million illegal aliens 
in the United States. Last year, our Border Patrol agents arrested 1.2 
million illegal aliens attempting to enter the U.S. from Mexico.
  Illegal aliens continue to enter the U.S. from the Mexican border at 
the rate of 8,000 per day, and I saw that firsthand on a recent trip to 
the Mexican border. The economic impact of illegal immigration on 
taxpayers is catastrophic.
  Illegal immigration costs taxpayers $45 billion a year in health 
care, identification, and incarceration expenses. The cost of the 
estimated 630,000 illegal aliens in my home State of Florida is about 
$2 billion a year, meaning every family in my congressional district 
pays a hidden tax of $315 each year, yet they still face artificially 
depressed wages because of illegal immigration.
  The House has recently passed a tough border security bill to address 
this problem, and I urge the Senate to act now to protect taxpayers.

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