The Cost of Illegal Immigrants in Texas - Research Paper Example

This quote is an extract from the Dallas Morning News, which examined the financial effects of the illegal immigrants in Texas. This calculation was done on behalf of the millions of taxpayers who were paying heavily in tax dollars for the presence of illegal immigrants residing in the state. The reason why this problem is especially prominent in Texas as opposed to the other forty-nine states of America is that this state is situated at the very south of the country. Due to its location, it is very near to Mexico, and thus Mexicans illegally emigrating from their own land often settle down or take refuge in this state.

Thus, there are thousands of such unregistered immigrants residing in the state of Texas, the costs of which are paid for by the taxpayers and legal inhabitants of Texas, as well as the government responsible. The reason why the presence of these illegal immigrants proves to be such a financial challenge for the legal citizens of this state is that they consume the public goods, which the government provides to the residents of this country. The US, being a developed country, provides several such goods to its citizens, such as health, education, and defense.

These are all public goods, which it provides to every citizen of the country. These costs are especially prominent concerning health care costs, which these illegal immigrants incur. As research shows, “The Texas Hospital Association has estimated the annual cost of uncompensated care to illegal immigrants at nearly $400 million a year” (A Lone Star Report, 2006). In addition, as mentioned in the news extract above, these costs included the cost of 66,000 births in one year, which makes up a large proportion of these costs.

These services however are not completely free of cost for these citizens. The government finances them using the tax dollars that these citizens themselves pay out of their own incomes, in the form of both direct and