In Reply to: Wrong as usual moron posted by wwood2 on April 23, 2026 at 17:49:14
as usual
$66 billion spent on illegal immigrants in 2023”
This number does come from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
However, FAIR is an advocacy organization that supports stricter immigration policies, not a neutral government source.
More importantly:
Their estimates are heavily disputed by economists and fact-checkers
Critics say FAIR:
Counts costs for U.S.-born children of immigrants
Overstates benefit use
Undercounts taxes paid
And there’s a key fact often left out:
Research shows undocumented immigrants paid about $66 billion in federal taxes in 2023
👉 So the viral claim flips the number:
It presents $66B as “spending on immigrants”
But there’s also evidence of roughly $66B paid by immigrants in taxes