Immigration is good for the economy and the budget
A reader named Ed, responding to my pro-immigration column today, brings up the argument that immigrants are a burden on the taxpayer. He writes:
When you combine low wages with lack of education and the inability to speak our standard language, the burden on social services becomes huge. What looks like a huge bargain for business has huge social costs to the taxpayers including medical, education, housing, prison, ect. Where is your analysis in regards to this?
As it happens, Daniel Griswold of the Cato Institute just published a paper on this very question. He uses figures from the Congressional Budget Office, which was studying an earlier version of the immigration reform bill. Griswold writes:
Specifically, the CBO estimated that federal spending would increase $53.6 billion during the period 2007-16 if the legislation became law, primarily because of increases in refundable tax credits and Medicaid spending. The additional spending would be more than offset in the same period by an even greater increase in federal revenues of $65.7 billion, mostly due to higher collections of income and Social Security taxes but also because of increased visa fees.
He also cites some research in Texas:
A 2006 study by the Texas comptroller of public accounts reached a similar conclusion. Examining the specific fiscal impact of the state’s 1.4 million undocumented immigrants, the study found that they imposed a net fiscal cost on Texas state and local governments of $504 million in 2005. The fiscal cost, however, was dwarfed by the estimated positive impact on the state’s economy of $17.7 billion.
Bottom line: Like anything else, immigration comes with costs and benefits. It looks like the benefits easily outweigh the costs.
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David Nicklaus has covered St. Louis business for more than 25 years. His column appears three days a week on the Post-Dispatch business page. 
Immigration is fine if it is within limits that we all agree on and if it is done legally. Why have immigration laws at all if our country doesn’t enforce them? In that case, they are rendered meaningless. What does illegal immigration say to legal immigrants? Largely, that they were chumps for doing things the right way since we don’t enforce our immigration laws thereby denuding said laws of all importance.
Immigration, most likely, is vital and important but we shouldn’t allow it willy-nilly. If you want to come here, stand in line. Don’t just rush across the border and beware the “coyotes”.