Immigrant adults over the age of 25, legal of not, cost Rhode Island $212 million a year - but that pales in comparison.
The Governor's commitment to the rule of law here has practical budget implications and is not targeted at race but at the new and faulted American Culture.
In fact, the Governor did not go far enough to recognize that immigrant sponsors are the new deadbeat dad and a serious contributor to the problem.
Providence, RI. April 8, 2008. - "It is unfortunate that members of the Hispanic community feel they have been labeled as the stereotypical illegal immigrant who is a fiscal drain on society," said William Felkner, president of the Ocean State Policy Research Institute. "The reality is anyone without a high school diploma, regardless of ethnicity or immigration status, costs the nation about $1 million over their lifetime."
This is not because they don't work. The study that shows these costs assumes immigrants do work in great numbers, but that the demographic of immigrants is more on the low-skill side, i.e. lacking high school diplomas. The figures show that the taxes collected at all levels of government from low-skilled workers vs. benefits expended on behalf of those individuals represent a $1 million dollar cost over the workers adult life (see, The Fiscal Cost of Low-Skill Immigrants to the U.S. Taxpayer, Rector, Robert and Kim, Christine, Heritage Foundation, May 22, 2007 http://www.heritage.org/Research/Immigration/sr14.cfm)
A great deal of interest has been focused on the costs of immigration at the state level as Rhode Island looks to balance its budget. Karen Lee Ziner's extensive treatment in Sunday's Journal (Size, impact of illegal population in R.I. a mystery, Providence Journal, April, 6th) while effectively laying out the broad extent of the question completely missed the broad treatment that Rector and Kim's work has already given to this question. While not specific to RI, it does look at average state and local costs and these averages can be applied to census statistics for RI to gain a reasonable putative estimate of costs.
The American Community Survey of the US Census bureau (2005) pegs the Rhode Island immigrant adult population (both legal and illegal over 25 years of age) at 53563 of whom 44.9% or very close to 24,000 do not have a high school diploma, a key indicator for economic results in Rector and Kim's formula. The net cost to state and local government for individuals in this demographic is $8836 per year. Thus, this low-skilled cohort of immigrants to RI costs state taxpayers about 212 million dollars a year. (Ocean State Policy believes the costs is likely significantly more as RI is never average when it comes to doling out funds)
The Governor's determination to turn the ship of state back towards the rule of law has it roots not in bigotry but in the budgetary hell in which the state finds itself.
"It is because such a high percentage of immigrants, legal or not, lack a quality formal education that they represent a relatively high cost to the taxpayer. This is not about America's failure to provide young people including immigrants a free education," the OSPRI president suggested. "Rather it is a factor of the lower marketable skills of adults coming here combined with the fact that America has forgotten the pride of personal responsibility. We spend far more on RI natives who lack a diploma, but we obviously can't afford to do it for everyone so the Governor has drawn a line."
Milton Freidman famously observed that you can't have open immigration and a welfare state. Rhode Island's deficit illustrates why. When America's melting pot reputation was forged early in the last century, these benefits were not available. To expect America's immigration policy to reflect that historic openness in the face of enormous costs is absurd. Cultural organizations claiming that racial animus is fueling this debate are simply refusing to look at the numbers.
Congress made a modest attempt to reign in costs of immigration when it reformed welfare policy in 1996 by explicitly denying benefits to LEGAL immigrants and requiring that sponsors provide necessary support until the immigrant attains self-sufficiency for up to 10 years.
Rhode Island's social service agencies have largely practiced a don't ask, don't tell policy with regard to immigration status in benefits provision. Ironically this practice undercuts cultural community groups who insist immigrants largely reject the safety net for the workplace.
Unfortunately, the institution of sponsorship has atrophied due to this lack of enforcement. And more unfortunately, the Governor's initiative to date falls short too.
Immigrant sponsors have become the new dead beat dads. Because the state has turned a blind eye, we can not accurately report the extent of this problem. The Governor's order should also demand that the Department of Human Services collect the necessary information to enforce sponsor responsibilities.
"We would hope that all Community Groups, native born or not, would honor the responsibilities of sponsorship." As proponents of free-market realism in immigration policy, Felkner notes "This is where the immigrant community and responsible government groups could come together. They have both expressed a commitment to the proud self-reliance that makes our Melting Pot society what it is, or at least what it used to be."
"Saying so is not xenophobic. It is simply reflecting the sobering economic statistics with respect to the costs of immigration. Renewing this sponsorship commitment could lift a serious stigma from this debate." Calling for a return to a traditional American Culture, Felkner said, "Whether they were Irish, Portuguese, Scandinavian or Hispanic, people coming here to work, supported by sponsors, is what made America great. Back then "sponsors" were called "family" and there was a sense of honor in that personal responsibility."
The Ocean State Policy Research Institute is focused on crafting sound policy based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values.
