High cost of so-called ‘cheap labor’
California has the largest number of illegal immigrants in the United States, between 2 million and 3 million. It is well known that a large number work for cash and don’t pay taxes. They occupy Housing and Urban Development properties, and a high percentage are on welfare.
On top of all this, taxpayers also pay for their children’s education (in some cases, college), medical and dental care.
These are interesting facts, but the one I found the most fascinating was that only about 3 percent of illegal immigrants pick crops, according to figures compiled by the Pew Hispanic Center from Census Bureau data. We have been told over and over we need them for this purpose, yet only a tiny fraction are willing to do this job.
Education, medical and dental care, law enforcement, courts, and financial, food and housing assistance for illegal immigrants cost U.S. taxpayers about $113 billion a year at the federal, state and local levels, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
These numbers prove that taxpayers are paying way too much for cheap labor. Yes that’s an oxymoron.
Gary Johns, Madera
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "High cost of so-called ‘cheap labor’."