FAIR Report Confirms National Security Begins at Home Package Could Save PA Taxpayers More Than $728 Million Annually
With the latest projections showing that Pennsylvania is now $217 million behind in revenue collection for the 2009-10 fiscal year, a bipartisan coalition led by Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) held a press conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday to reveal the findings of a recently introduced report demonstrating that enactment of the National Security Begins at Home illegal immigration reform package would save Pennsylvania taxpayers no less than $728 million annually.
“Even if Pennsylvania’s ongoing illegal alien invasion never reaches your back yard, back porch or work place, this report proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the presence of illegal aliens continues to dramatically impact the back pockets of every working and tax-paying Pennsylvania citizen,” said Metcalfe. “More importantly, this report documents that a major portion of the annual Rendell budget deficit could be erased if the majority of state lawmakers and the governor would simply uphold their constitutional obligations to protect the lives, property and individual liberties of all Pennsylvania citizens by enacting each of the commonsense reforms contained in the National Security Begins at Home package.”
Metcalfe’s legislative contributions to the seven-bill National Security Begins at Home package includes: requiring all Commonwealth employers and government entities to enroll in the federal government’s FREE, E-Verify Program to confirm Social Security numbers of prospective employees (House Bill 2033); and establishing legal and economic sanctions against any “Sanctuary” city, municipality or other local government entity that willfully violates federal immigration law by adopting ordinances, policies or informal procedures to encourage illegal alien invaders to reside within its borders or otherwise obstructs law enforcement activities (House Bills 2034 and 2035).
Jack Martin, director of Special Projects for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was on hand to quantify his research on the ever-increasing taxpayer costs directly associated with Pennsylvania’s estimated 140,000 illegal alien population (which has nearly tripled since 2000):
- Pennsylvania has the 16th largest concentration of illegal aliens in the United States.
- Providing education to the estimated 48,500 illegal alien children (or 2.7 percent of K-12 students) attending Pennsylvania’s public schools costs state taxpayers nearly $660 million annually. As a result, public enrollment of students who require special instruction in English has also soared, rising 187 percent from 1993 to 2006.
- Additional data reveals that illegal alien births may account for 1,800 to 1,950 births per year in Gov. Ed Rendell’s home city of Philadelphia. Undocumented women make up 60 percent to 65 percent of the nearly 3,000 prenatal patients treated in Philadelphia’s FREE health care clinics.
- Expanding this initial price tag to include unreimbursed health care expenditures and incarceration costs, total state taxpayer costs for illegal aliens increases to $728 million annually or about $150 per Pennsylvania resident household.
On the upside, Martin’s report concluded that the annual fiscal costs to Pennsylvania taxpayers associated with illegal aliens are not inevitable.
State and local policies can either facilitate or hinder federal immigration law enforcement efforts.
Finally, until employers are held accountable for hiring illegal alien workers and state and local law enforcement agencies work cooperatively with federal immigration officials to identify and remove illegal aliens, Pennsylvania’s illegal alien population will continue to grow.
“In order to improve existing immigration laws we must support the existing law enforcement system and give them with the tools they need to enforce the law,” said Representative Tom Creighton (R-Lancaster). “That is why I have authored two bills aimed at facilitating greater cooperation between federal and state government and training local law enforcement to assist the Pennsylvania State Police with capturing illegal aliens and with obtaining complete criminal history information that cross-checks both citizenship and immigration status with those previously arrested.”
Creighton’s legislation would require citizenship or immigration status of those arrested to be included in the repository of criminal history records maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police (House Bill 780); and would authorize the Pennsylvania State Police to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Justice or U.S. Department of Homeland Security concerning enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws (House Bill 782).
“The total economic burden imposed on law-abiding Pennsylvania citizens by illegal aliens is unfair and unwelcome even in the best of economic times and even more devastating in the midst of an economic recession,” said Representative Mark Mustio (R-Allegheny), whose legislation would terminate the professional license of any Pennsylvania employer that knowingly hires an illegal alien (House Bill 1773). “Simply put, there should be no economic rewards, public benefits or employment privileges for anyone who is guilty of breaking our nation’s immigration laws.
“Final enactment of my legislation and the rest of the National Security Begins at Home package will send a clear message that our Commonwealth is serious about protecting the best economic interests of legally employed workers and honest, patriotic law-abiding businesses that refuse to undermine the legitimate process of legal immigration by providing illegal employment opportunities,” added Mustio.
Sponsored by Representative Scott Perry (R-York/Cumberland), who is on active military duty with the Pennsylvania National Guard, the Protection of Public Benefits Act (House Bill 44) would eliminate all non-medical emergency public benefits for illegal aliens, including welfare, education and unemployment benefits. Covered entities (government and private) would have to verify the lawful presence in the United States of any applicant for benefits.
“Every illegal alien’s very first step across our borders is a criminal violation of our federal immigration laws which makes them foreign invaders,” said Metcalfe. “Establishing a zero-tolerance policy against illegal alien invaders remains our foremost and most effective defenses against global terrorism, infectious diseases and importing even more third-world poverty. I encourage all Pennsylvanians who want safer communities, free of illegal aliens, to sign the National Security Begins at Home petition today.”
The complete Cost of Illegal Immigration to Pennsylvanians report can be reviewed and downloaded at FAIRUS.org.
Rep. Daryl Metcalfe
12th District
Rep. Tom Creighton
37th District
Rep. Mark Mustio
44th District
Office of Rep. Scott Perry
92th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Ty McCauslin
House Republican Public Relations
(717) 772-9979