Illegal Immigration: a fact-based cost/benefit analysis

[johnwk]

Those who pretend the 14th Amendment was intended to make the children of foreign nationals citizens of the United States, especially children born of foreign nationals who have invaded our borders and still have an allegiance to a foreign power, is not only humorous, it is hysterically humorous. But if I am in error, I am sure those who promote such an absurdity will be quick to post the documented evidence from the CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE, 39th Congress to support their absurdity and that such was the intentions of the framers and ratifiers of the 14th Amendment.

page 2893: Mr TRUMBULL “all persons born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens.” That means “subject to the complete jurisdiction thereof” Now, does the Senator from Wisconsin pretend to say that the Navajoe Indians are subject to the complete jurisdiction of the United States”? What do we mean by “subject to the jurisdiction of the United States?” Not owing allegiance to anybody else. That is what it means…………….It is only those persons who come completely within our jurisdiction, who are subject to our laws, that we think of making citizens: and there can be no objection to the proposition that such persons should be citizens.

and:

Mr JOHNSON: Now, all that this amendment provides is, that all persons born in the United States and not subject to some foreign Power--for that, no doubt, is the meaning of the committee who have brought the matter before us--shall be considered as citizens of the United States……..I know of no better way to give rise to citizenship than the fact of birth within the territory of the United States, born of parents who at the time were subject to the authority of the United States.

Our domestic enemies in Congress are attempting to make those who have invaded our borders subject to the “jurisdiction” of the United States by the Amnesty bill, which would then make them citizens by the 14th Amendment! They, those in Congress supporting the amnesty bill are traitors and ought to be tarred and feathered and banished from America


Regards,

JWK

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!

[rmnunez]

What do we mean by “subject to the jurisdiction of the United States?” Not owing allegiance to anybody else. That is what it means………

I don't think being subject to the jurisdiction of the US means not being under allegiance to another government. More than just citizens are subject to the jurisdiction of the US. But even if Mr. Trumbull thought this was a fancy way to say "citizens", it is not true that US citizens cannot owe allegiance to another government. The US recognizes dual nationals, and that dual or multiple nationality may arise before or after acquiring US citizenship.

Citizenship is ultimately about legal status and this is a condition acquired or changed through specific conduct, circumstances and the operation of law. For example, a child born of parents from a country recognizing citizenship by parentage regardless of location, would automatically qualify as a citizen thereof even if he subsequently or simultaneously had acqquired the citizenship of the foreign place where he was born. Citizenship may be renounced, and the US gives its ex-citizens a particularly hard time over this, they always figure its about tax evasion. Citizenship can be changed and we see this all the time with ball players and other sports figures, who marry, document ancestry or establish residence to meet specific requirements.

There is a more nativistic perspective on citizenship, but it rings hollow in a nation populated by immigrants. In places like Kosovo, where communities trace their shared roots in a specific locale for centuries into the past, natives can justifiably repudiate citizenship by acquisition.

[Century 25]

rmnunez states:

Citizenship is ultimately about legal status and this is a condition acquired or changed through specific conduct, circumstances and the operation of law.

..Yes.. ultimately about legal status .. and just because the burglar has the banks money.. as in an "undocumented" .."loan" aka: theft.. it doesn't signify a possible shift in authenticity to make it legal..

As with our aforementioned crook.. the illegal alien is a burglar.. caught within our home.. and no way will the criminal claim possession.

[johnwk]

Senator McCain has the nerve to point a finger at the opponents of his amnesty proposal and suggest they are evil and do not care about the children and families of immigrants. Seems he has been rubbing elbows with the pinkos in Congress to long and has now adopted their “save the children card”.

Simply amazing what the proponents of amnesty are saying about those who want nothing more than existing laws to be enforced with regard to immigration: “why are you a xenophobe? “, or, “why are you a racist”?, or, “why do you hate brown people” ? and now, “why do you hate kids and Mexicans?”

Seems to me it is Senator McCain and the promoters of the amnesty bill who do not care about the health and safety of Mexican children whose parents immigrated here legally and were screened for TB, hepatitis, and other health concerns. Surely the supporters of amnesty know that the children of legal immigrants in bordering states with Mexico are now being exposed to contagious and deadly diseases brought in by illegal aliens who are invading our borders and have avoided being screened for such diseases. See: Preventing and Controlling Tuberculosis Along the U.S.-Mexico Border

“TB disease among foreign-born persons living in the United States is increasing. In 1999, 43% (7,553) of the 17,531 TB cases reported in the United States were among foreign-born persons, compared with 24% (6,262) of the 25,701 cases reported in 1990. In 1999, Mexico was the country of origin for 23% (1,753) of all foreign-born persons with TB. Of TB cases among Mexican-born persons, three fourths were reported from the four U.S. states bordering Mexico: California, 820 cases; Texas, 364 cases; Arizona, 67 cases; and New Mexico, 17 cases (3). In 1999, TB cases among Mexican-born persons represented approximately 25% of all reported TB in the four border states. Incidence of TB was higher for the majority of border counties than the national TB rate. TB is brought into the United States from Mexico and Central America in three ways: a) persons with active TB disease move northward across the border; b) persons with latent TB infection experience active disease after arrival in the United States; or c) U.S. residents touring Mexico, including immigrants, acquire TB disease after returning to the United States (4--7). After a person with TB enters the United States, further transmission might occur, which contributes to TB morbidity in the United States directly from source patients and indirectly from their contacts.”

Now, Mr. McCain, how about telling us why you hate kids and Mexicans who have immigrated to America legally, and why you are willing to expose these legal immigrants to deadly diseases being brought into America by illegal aliens who you would grant amnesty to, and have avoid being screened for T.B. and other health concerns, and would remain unscreened under you proposal?

We are waiting for your answer Mr. McCain......

Regards,

JWK

[rmnunez]

Calderon Demands Transperancy:

At the opening ceremonies for the 4th National Transperancy Week, Calderon celebrated that 20 state governments had ratified the constitutional amendements to article 6 to move towards standarized transparent practices. Calderon stated: "For my government it is fundamental that Mexico improve to international standards the access it provides to and the quality of public information available."

So there's no truth to the biased claims the Mexican government ignores the problems of corruption. Calderon, like Fox before him, is well-aware and has emphasized his efforts to erradicate such practices. Calderon appreciates how, in a competitive world, absent access to information, foreign investment goes elsewhere.

The president made it clear transperancy is the primary tool his government counts on to fight corruption. "Transperacy is the antidote to corruption, this is why my government is taking firm steps to fight bad practices in public administration". Terra - Seguiremos por la ruta de la transparencia: Calderón

On how Mexico deals with its undocumenteds, it was noted Calderon’s wife presided in a ceremony today to endow the Mexican Department of Child Services and the Immigration Authorities with additional funds for the care and attention to undocumented children in Mexico.

Margarita Zavala, president of the Child Service Consultive Council stated that “we cannot close our eyes to this reality which harms us as people and a nation. Children may not be subject to irresponsibility and abuse.” To address the problem, the Child Services Department and the Mexican immigration authority ratified a convention to protect the rights of unaccompanied undocumented minors.

I suppose the US immigration authority coordinates with state social services to deal with any minors they catch. In Mexico this problem is probably worse because often the kids either ran away from relatives and are trying to find their parents who may have left for the US, or they became separated from them parents in transit.

The Commissioner for the Immigration Authority, Cecilia Romero Castillo, indicated how “we must join efforts to inhibit, fight and avoid children fall victims to networks trafficking in people or be exploited by individuals”. The growth of undocumented children in Mexico is a concern to international organizations. Last year 50 thousand undocumented children were deported from Mexico, at least half travelled alone. “We are always worried when there is a danger to minors, that their rights may not be respected, this is definitely one of the most vulnerable immigrant groups” the UNICEF’s Mr. Michael Klaus, indicated.

Funds were released to provide shelter and assistance for an additional 20 thousand.

Presently there are 64 shelters for minor undocumenteds in Mexico, 16 of them belong to the Department of Child Services and the rest are run by charitable institutions. Margarita Zavala indicated the effort would focus on the border states, “so that arrival in Mexico doesn’t become part of the tragedy these children suffer and instead becomes the opposite, a relief and rest from that.” Sistema e-once noticias Internet

[rmnunez]

Calderon wants transperancy to end corruption and improve the economy, and his wife is focusing some effort on undocumentd children caught in transit, what progress do we see to the north?

Three National Guardsmen assigned to the Texas-Mexico border were accused of running an immigrant smuggling ring after 24 immigrants were found inside a van that one of them was driving, a US attorney said Monday. The three, arrested late Thursday and Friday, were arraigned Monday on a federal charge of conspiring to transport illegal immigrants. A Border Patrol agent found 24 illegal immigrants inside a van Torres was driving along Interstate 35 near Cotulla, Texas, about 68 miles north of the border, prosecutors said. Torres was in uniform at the time of his arrest Thursday. The van was leased by the National Guard, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prosecutors accused Hodge of helping Torres pass through a Border Patrol checkpoint on the highway by making it look like the two were conducting Guard business. Pacheco was accused of recruiting soldiers to transport the migrants for $1,000 to $3,500 a trip. He and Hodge were arrested Friday. All three soldiers are assigned to border duties as part of Operation Jumpstart, President Bush's initiative to place Guard troops at the border to help local and federal authorities with immigration enforcement. All the soldiers are volunteers. The three soldiers used cell phone text messaging to negotiate the details, price and number of people who would be smuggled north, according to a complaint filed in court Monday. "tell them ill only do 1 run @ no more than 20 people @ $150 a person and i want 2 leave @ 1930 hrs and ill go 2 San Anto if they want," Torres typed to Hodge hours before Torres was arrested, according to the complaint. A message later that day from Pacheco instructed Torres that a trip was a go, with a promised payment of $3,500 for the delivery of 24 illegal immigrants, the document said. "24 will b tuff 2 fit but ill try," Torres wrote in response, the complaint said. Torres told federal investigators that it was his seventh immigrant smuggling trip. Torres implicated Hodge as the soldier who waved his van through the checkpoint, the complaint said. Star-Telegram.com | 06/11/2007 | Guardsmen on border accused of running smuggling ring

[Century 25]

..So rmnunez.. when you stated: Quote:

"Citizenship is ultimately about legal status and this is a condition acquired or changed through specific conduct, circumstances and the operation of law."

I said:

..Yes.. ultimately about legal status .. and just because the burglar has the banks money.. as in an "undocumented" .."loan" aka: theft.. it doesn't signify a possible shift in authenticity to make it legal..

As with our aforementioned crook.. the illegal alien is a burglar.. caught within our home.. and no way will the criminal claim possession.

I think as soon as Mexico invites us "gringos" as we are so charmingly called by your countrymen.. as soon as they invite us to become citizens as long as we can.. emerge.. let us call it.. in Meccico.. well then I think we can make a deal vis-a-vis your "immigrant"-cum -American citizen issue is concerned..

Maybe we could just claim the Baja peninsula as part of the deal.. after all.. we here in Arizona got screwed when we (America) decided to let old Meccico angle our state border such that the Sea of Cortez ~ Gulf of California ~ was removed from our ownership.. so the Mexicans could have access from Baja to Sonora without illegally entering Arizona.. Ha..!! What a joke.. On us..!!

Now we have an extra probably 30 million people to crowd our schools.. jails.. hospitals.. prisons.. more traffic.. more traffic deaths (they can't read English) -- oh.. and btw.. many (Mexicans) here illegally also are illiterate in their own language..

And back to our list of woes.. Social Security is a big loser.. the Mex. citizen is here for cheap labor for American businesses.. so they are paid less $ per hr/day.. etc.. and often under the table.. so they fall way.. way short of paying their way here (not to mention the money they send back to the old country) - so SS is being drained by a ever widening "base" that isn't coughing-up much to pay into SS.. and then Federal Taxes.. hmm.. nope.. they are again.. far.. far short of self supporting them and their.. statistically very large families..

Illegal Mexican.. and a much smaller population of other mostly Central American aliens here.. their children.. eat free breakfasts & lunches.. year-round too.. !! And.. the hospitals are going broke because they are forced.. yes.. forced.. to treat them..

What say you mnunez..??

[rmnunez]

I'm not sure what I can say, your comments are all over the place. Undocumented Mexican immigrants in the US are a burden on the infrastructure and social services there, but its not clear whether that burden is greater than the overall benefit derived from the work the immigrants do.

Since we are dealing with undocumented immigrants its hard to calculate whether they are more of a burden or asset. We don't know what the immigrants do, how much they make, what activities they engage in or the services they use. We know remitances to Mexico rose beyond $23 billion last year and that this is a fraction of the income the undocumented earned, we know in the US they are paid 8 to 10 times more than they'd get for the same work in Mexico. We know they have already contributed over $7 billion in unaccounted for Social Security payroll deductions to other people's accounts.

On the costs of educating undocumenteds children in public schools or for the medical treatment of immigrant workers, the data is even less clear. Whatever costs must be reduced to some degree by efforts among the undocumented to conceal their presence, they don't make use of some services because these require the beneficiary somehow identify themselves and doing so would reveal their unlawful presence subjecting them to deportation. I've already noted how often Mexicans regain consciousness after an accident chained to a hospital bed, with deportation to follow as soon as they are ambulatory again.

The illegality in the undocumenteds condition stems exclusively from the way they crossed the border and usually this is the only unlawfulness the immigrant has ever carried out. Undocumenteds cross irregularly because they can't overcome the administrative complexities, delay and costs associated with compliance. Half the trouble is in securing the documentation the Mexican authorities require to issue a passport, the other half stems from the complicated regulations the US immigration authorities require. Crossing the border without the formalities is not the same as burglarizing a home for many reasons; many do it, it is widely tolerated and even encouraged, authorities don't pay attention and even facilitate the process, they do not enter to steal and they contribute substantially.

To acquire citizenship in Mexico united statians only need to; a) apply for a residence permit before whatever condition of their entry expires, b) renew that residence twice (once a year) and either marry a Mexican, have a child there, establish lineal kinship with a Mexican ancestor, or do something great for Mexico and express the interest in acquiring citizenship, or c) just maintain lawful residence for 5 years.

To travel to Mexico with a visa is much easier than it is to the US, there are no quotas, they don't demand letters from employers on the impact of the visitor on the labor market, background checks don't go beyond checking wether the visitor is on the list of US State Department precluded travelled (about 350 thousand Muslim names).

[Zeebadee]

Quote by: rmnunez On the costs of educating undocumenteds children in public schools or for the medical treatment of immigrant workers, the data is even less clear. Whatever costs must be reduced to some degree by efforts among the undocumented to conceal their presence, they don't make use of some services because these require the beneficiary somehow identify themselves and doing so would reveal their unlawful presence subjecting them to deportation.

Pure crap.
"The estimated annual cost to hospitals and other providers of emergency health care nationwide for illegal aliens is $1.45 billion. According to congressionally-commissioned research from the MTG Corporation, the annual cost to just the 24 counties along the border in Texas, New Mexico and California exceeds $200 million, and for Arizona's four border counties alone it's $32 million per year.

These unreimbursed costs, and other health-related issues, have put Arizona hospitals in a state of dire fiscal emergency. As a result, some have closed, or are in danger of having to close their emergency rooms and other services.

Copper Queen Hospital in Bisbee, for example, closed its ob/gyn department for several months because it had to provide labor and delivery services for illegal immigrants on an emergency basis and received no compensation. Maricopa County Hospital incurred uncompensated costs of over $1 million just to treat two burn victims."
Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc.

Quote by: rmnunez I've already noted how often Mexicans regain consciousness after an accident chained to a hospital bed, with deportation to follow as soon as they are ambulatory again.

Yeah, noted, but never substantiated except in rare instances. Let's see you document that claim.

Quote by: rmnunez The illegality in the undocumenteds condition stems exclusively from the way they crossed the border and usually this is the only unlawfulness the immigrant has ever carried out. Undocumenteds cross irregularly because they can't overcome the administrative complexities, delay and costs associated with compliance. Half the trouble is in securing the documentation the Mexican authorities require to issue a passport, the other half stems from the complicated regulations the US immigration authorities require.

More garbage. Merely an attempt to obfuscate the fact that we put limits on legal immigration. What country doesn't?? You continually push for "immigration reform" when what you really mean is removal of all restrictions on immigration.

Quote by: rmnunez Crossing the border without the formalities is not the same as burglarizing a home for many reasons; many do it, it is widely tolerated and even encouraged, authorities don't pay attention and even facilitate the process, they do not enter to steal and they contribute substantially.

You mean it's widely tolerated and encouraged by those that benefit from their cheap labor. It's certainly not tolerated and encouraged by the local carpenters here that are losing their jobs to illegals working off the books for less than minimum wages.

Quote by: rmnunez To acquire citizenship in Mexico united statians only need to; a) apply for a residence permit before whatever condition of their entry expires, b) renew that residence twice (once a year) and either marry a Mexican, have a child there, establish lineal kinship with a Mexican ancestor, or do something great for Mexico and express the interest in acquiring citizenship, or c) just maintain lawful residence for 5 years. To travel to Mexico with a visa is much easier than it is to the US, there are no quotas, they don't demand letters from employers on the impact of the visitor on the labor market, background checks don't go beyond checking wether the visitor is on the list of US State Department precluded travelled (about 350 thousand Muslim names).

Isn't that nice! Of course, you neglect to mention that U.S. emigres to Mexico are almost entirely retired people that bring their money with them, and the tourists that get visas are on vacation to spend money. Neither of the two classes of visitors are there to take jobs away from Mexican workers or take advantage of free medical care.

[rmnunez]

I suspect the problems hospitals in the US have more to do with inadequate funding than with the drain on their resources undocumenteds may make. Likely the hospitals were established to serve a local community which has grown and changed but those changes are not reflected in the documented data because the growth has been in undocumenteds.

Medical services in the US are a mess with all sorts of schemes for health 'insurance', complicated arrangements for co-payments, restrictions on the level of care that can be provided, negligible efforts in preventive medicine and costly pharmaceutical and specialized technology.

I suppose if about 20% of the population were deported there'd be better access to the basics, but I suspect this wouldn't resolve the problem, just delay the urgency with which health-care reform is needed.

[brien]

On the costs of educating undocumenteds children in public schools or for the medical treatment of immigrant workers, the data is even less clear

Ok, so let's try and get this more clear by examining how schools are funded.

Schools are funded by local property taxes upon dwellings and buildings within the school district. How many undocumented workers pay property taxes directly to the local government that fund the schools their children attend? Probably not many since many undocumneted workers don't usually own taxable property, ie houses/ buildings. Their children attend school with very little contribution to the local school system, and none, if their parents work in a completely different school district.

These children, even if there are only one or two per classroom, definitely strain an already overburdened and undefunded school system and are using money that would otherwise be devoted to the children who belong to citizens. It isn't fair to them.
.

[Zeebadee]

Quote by: rmnunez I suspect the problems hospitals in the US have more to do with inadequate funding than with the drain on their resources undocumenteds may make. Likely the hospitals were established to serve a local community which has grown and changed but those changes are not reflected in the documented data because the growth has been in undocumenteds.

More pure unadulterated horseshit. Yeah, going broke has a lot to do with "inadequate funding", but I think providing federally mandated services without compensation has a lot more to do with it. "Likely" the local hospitals were established without a plan about how to provide free services to illegal immigrants who have money to send home to mexico, but no money to pay for the services provided. I don't know how much work you do for free, but I'd be willing to bet it's not much. Try providing a large percentage of your work for free and see if you also suffer from "inadequate funding".

[brien]

Ithink Zee is correct on this:

"Likely" the local hospitals were established without a plan about how to provide free services to illegal immigrants who have money to send home to mexico, but no money to pay for the services provided.

This amount of money could indeed pay for the medical bills charged off by hospitals as uncollected from undocumented workers. Here is the evidence. If undocumented workers paid their hospital bill, we likely wouldn't have hospitals charging off billions annually thus forcing sqeezes upon their finances. It seems that undocumented workers are not only in the country illegally, but many are deadbeats as well.

The Columbus Dispatch - Local/State

Money flowing into Mexico from workers in the United States could reach $17 billion when the numbers for 2004 are tallied, up from $13.3 billion in 2003, the Bank of Mexico reports. Last year, money sent from the United States overtook tourism as the second-largest revenue producer, behind oil.

Here is the amount of unpaid hospital bills.

Unpaid bills squeeze U.S. hospitals' resources | Chicago Tribune

The association has not tallied the full extent of undocumented immigrants' impact on uncompensated-care costs, but representatives say they are certain it reaches into the billions of dollars annually, citing several regional studies completed in recent years. The association often quotes a 2002 study that put the annual cost of emergency hospital services and transportation costs at more than $200 million for hospitals along the border with Mexico

[Century 25]

Quote by: rmnunez

Crossing the border without the formalities is not the same as burglarizing a home for many reasons; many do it, it is widely tolerated and even encouraged, authorities don't pay attention and even facilitate the process, they do not enter to steal and they contribute substantially.

I have a news flash for you mnunez.. this definition from the Columbia encyclopedia:

At common law burglary is primarily an offense against the security of habitation, not against the property as such, but today by statute burglary usually includes breaking into places other than dwellings. Breaking as well as entering is essential to commission of the crime; to constitute a breaking, the use of physical force is necessary and sufficient, even though the amount of force may be slight, e.g., turning a key, opening a partly closed window, pushing out a windowpane. Entry through fraud (as by posing as a guest), through threat, or through conspiracy with servants is deemed by the law equivalent to breaking and is called “constructive breaking.” By statute most states do not restrict burglary to action at night, as the common law does.

Do you get it..?? When anyone sneaks into our home.. and the USA is our home .. that person/s is considered a burglar..

We.. the people of the United States.. neither want nor do we need millions of illegal aliens.. simply to fill the cheap labor pool of American businesses. We have over 300,000,000 of our own citizens to take care of.

[brien]

Century 25 wrote

We.. the people of the United States.. neither want nor do we need millions of illegal aliens.. simply to fill the cheap labor pool of American businesses. We have over 300,000,000 of our own citizens to take care of.

This statement is a little out of hand. The US needs labor and Mexicans are some of the people ready willing and able to provide that labor. What they need to do is enter the country legally. Then their jobs will be compensated in a legal manner as prescribed by law. ie, they will at least be paid the minimum wage. They will pay all income taxes and Social Security and Medicare taxes as well.

Illegally entering this country only invites exploitation by business, over burdens social services, short changes education, and cheats the government out of taxes all citizens must pay for the right to live here. The border needs to be secured and immigrants need to cross legally to not only protect themselves but also to continue to ensure the rule of law is enforced across the land on an equal basis for all.

[rmnunez]

Do children enrolled in public school have to bring their parent's property tax receipts before they can be matriculated in the US? If not, why should the kids of any undocumenteds? I know how schools are funded, but have never heard of a public school providing services exclusively for home owners.

Burglary is a crime that depends on intent, if you entered the wrong apartment by mistake, you couldn't be charged with this. For burglary one must enter a dwelling (in some states they include other buildings) with the intent to commit a felony inside (though this can be expanded to include misdemeanors as well).

[Century 25]

brien stated:

This statement is a little out of hand. The US needs labor and Mexicans are some of the people ready willing and able to provide that labor.

Lets take this part:

"The US needs labor "

Are you saying we do not have enough people to do the jobs..? That is nonsense.. more than 300 million people.. the median age here is about 35.3 years old.. as compared to Japan's 43.5 years old.. and Japan's population has actually declined from 2006 to 2007.. Canada is another stable country..
And:

The second part of your statement:

"and Mexicans are some of the people ready willing and able to provide that labor."

- That would suggest that the Mexicans only are capable of filling part of our so-called "needs"... I am truly at a loss to see the logic of any part of your statements. ..Except.. of course.. you mean the United States "needs" to.. "grow"..?? That is the only logical conclusion I can see.. and that goes to the "business" horseshit.. "growth" to feed their habit.. greed..!!!

[rmnunez]

(.25):"The estimated annual cost to hospitals and other providers of emergency health care nationwide for illegal aliens is $1.45 billion.

Confirmed:

Undocumented adults account for about $6.4 billion a year in national health care expenses, $1.1 billion of which is paid from public funds, according to the study by the Rand Corp., a Santa Monica think tank.Tallying health costs of illegals / Study finds immigrants are not a disproportionate burden

Their study was done in California, which also has a border with a large (and even intergenerational) undocumented community. But this is in comparison to what? Rand tells us:

That compares with a total of $88 billion in government funds spent on health care for adults other than seniors during 2000.

Apparently the undocumenteds are generaly younger and healthier than the average united statian health-care user, which I've had described by eminent physicians from that country, as a nation of "advertising-educated hypochondriacs". My hypothesis that many undocumenteds who might need medical attention avoid the hospitals and clinics for fear of getting deported, is not contradicted.

Rand also noted the relative insignificance of health-care costs in terms of the overall 'burden' undocumenteds impose upon the public treasury.

"The public cost of immigration is not in health care," said James Smith, a senior economist at Rand and one of the study's authors. "Why are we spending such an inordinate amount of time debating where the dollars are not? Nine-five percent of the dollars are in schools, not the health care system."