Show Us the Money: How States and Local Governments Make Themselves Magnets for Illegal Immigration
Preventing illegal aliens from getting into the country is primarily the responsibility of the federal government (although, as this month’s report from the Texas border demonstrates, states are not entirely powerless to deter and prevent illegal immigration). Where the aliens wind up after they enter illegally is often determined by the policies adopted by state and local governments. Local jurisdictions that accommodate, or even reward illegal immigration, find themselves attracting large numbers of illegal aliens to the detriment of their own citizenry.
New York
No place in the country has been hit harder by the influx of illegal aliens over the past several years than New York City. Some 175,000 migrants have turned up in the Big Apple in less than two years, and the flow shows no sign of abating any time soon. The city has budgeted $12 billion to provide for migrants’ needs between now and the end of Fiscal Year 2025. According to New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, the city now spends more on the migrants than it does on the Police, Fire and Sanitation Departments combined. Mayor Eric Adams is resorting to across-the-board cuts to every city agency to offset the costs.
New York City is a facing a full-blown crisis, to which Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature have responded by adding new benefits for asylum abusers. The state, which is facing its own $4.3 billion budget deficit (exactly the amount that Gov. Hochul has set aside out of the state’s budget to provide for needs of the migrants), has quietly made changes to its Safety Net Assistance program to offer benefits to ‘asylum-
seekers.’ The cash assistance, which amounts to “hundreds of dollars per month,” can be used by the migrants to cover the costs of housing, utilities, clothing and other necessities. This new enticement for more illegal aliens to settle in New York has even raised the ire of some Democratic lawmakers. New York City Councilman Robert Holden decried the new benefits, saying “endless handouts to the entire world are a slap in the face to every citizen who has contributed to and sacrificed for this country.”
Washington
New York is far from the only state offering additional benefits to illegal aliens and a slap in the face to citizens. On top of the $2.62 billion a year in costs that Washington State incurs as a result of illegal immigration, the state has come up with new ways to funnel cash assistance to illegal aliens. A report from the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) revealed that Washington diverted $340 million in federal COVID funds to illegal aliens. These funds, distributed as checks or prepaid cards ranging from $1,000 to over $3,000, were administered by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services to aliens ineligible for pandemic relief. Just to be sure that illegal aliens did not miss out on the free cash, the state allocated $283,000 to advertise the availability of the assistance. Not surprisingly, Washington has become a magnet for illegal aliens, with 60,000 settling in the Evergreen State between 2017 and 2021 and, undoubtedly, many more arriving since the Biden administration threw open the floodgates.
Colorado
Like his counterpart in New York, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is having to resort to deep cuts in city services in order to accommodate the needs of some 40,000 newly-arrived illegal aliens. Denver recently cut $5 million from public services to provide shelter, health care, schooling and other services to migrants. These public service cuts are in addition to the $25 million that were already diverted last month from the city’s budget to address the migrant crisis.
Even these cuts are unlikely to cover the costs of the Biden illegal immigration crisis. Mayor Johnston says the city may be on the hook for an additional $180 million in 2024 and has asked every office from the police department to the Clerk and Recorders office to plan for additional cutbacks. However, one option the mayor refuses to consider is repealing Denver’s sanctuary city status. Despite the crushing burdens, Johnston reiterated that Denver remains “a welcoming city, and we also don’t want to cut core city services. But, right now, we’re in this dilemma where we can’t get any help from the federal government on work authorization or on controlling entry or on the ability to actually provide resources to cities.”
FAIR is Responding
Meanwhile, FAIR is working with state and local officials on ways to make their jurisdictions less appealing to illegal immigration and protect the interests and resources of their citizens.
- In Colorado, FAIR is working with law enforcement and activists in the state to support HB 1128, which was recently heard in the State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Committee. This legislation, while facing an uphill battle, would reinstate Colorado’s anti-sanctuary ban.
- In Indiana, FAIR is supporting passage of Senate Bill 181, which would add teeth to the state’s existing anti-sanctuary law. SB 181 has already passed the Senate and is moving in the House.
- In New Hampshire, Shari Rendall, FAIR’s Director of State and Local Engagement, testified in February in support of Senate Bill 563. That bill stipulates clearly that, “No state government entity, local government entity, or law enforcement agency shall knowingly enact, issue, adopt, promulgate, enforce, permit, endorse, maintain, or have in effect any sanctuary policy.”
As the burdens of the Biden illegal immigration crisis become more onerous on state and local governments, our State and Local Engagement departments urge members and government officials to reach out for ideas and legislative language that can help them avoid, or repeal, ruinous sanctuary policies.