Illegal immigration is placing a $100 million burden on Mississippi’s taxpayers, a new report from State Auditor Shad White asserts.
According to the Republican official’s findings, roughly 22,000 undocumented individuals currently call the Magnolia State home. The state auditor’s team used a formula centered on education, healthcare, and public safety costs to determine how much taxpayer money is spent on undocumented foreigners dwelling in Mississippi.
Mississippi is reported to spend around $25 million to educate undocumented youth in K-12 schools each year. Information collected by the University of Mississippi’s Population Studies Center project reveals that approximately 2,500 undocumented youth attend K-12 public schools in the state, although that figure could be higher or lower given the state’s department of education does not collect citizenship information from students or their families.
The $25 million was tallied by adding the amount each of the 2,500 pupils would receive from the state’s newly created K-12 public education funding formula, additional dollars allocated to students in English Language Learners programs, and extra money set aside for youth from low-income households.
Additionally, the report finds that taxpayers spend north of $75 million for healthcare to be provided to undocumented individuals and their children. Federal law assures everyone in the U.S. is guaranteed access to emergency medical treatment. Records indicate that half of the state’s undocumented population does not have health insurance while 38% depends on emergency services as a primary form of care.
With the average cost of a trip to the emergency room in Mississippi being $4,100, it was projected that taxpayers cover a $45 million bill for undocumented immigrants to receive medical care. Notably, uninsured pregnant women have higher rates of emergency visits than women who have private insurance. Analysts estimate nearly 2% of all births in Mississippi are to undocumented mothers, costing the state approximately $4 million annually.
Once the children are born, the parents are eligible to apply for Medicaid coverage for the children. Many of those children are likely to be enrolled in Mississippi’s Medicaid program to help hospitals recoup potential unpaid services, the state auditor’s report suggests. This is believed to cost taxpayers $28 million yearly.
White further asserts that there are an estimated 79 illegal immigrants currently in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The GOP official adds that there are presumably undocumented migrants in local jails across the state. Incarcerating these individuals alone costs an estimated $1.7 million.
But White adds that the problem lies deeper than mere incarceration. He argues that the presence of illegal immigrants can strain local law enforcement agencies, which may lack the resources to effectively manage the increased workload and divert resources away from other critical public safety needs.
“Mississippi’s illegal immigration problem is spiraling out of control and is costing taxpayers millions,” White said. “Our public schools, hospitals, and prisons will continue to lose massive sums of money that we could have spent on our own citizens if this problem is not solved.”
The report comes ahead of the November 5 election in which immigration has been a primary focus among some candidates, particularly former U.S. president and Republican nominee Donald Trump and Mississippi-based U.S. Senator Roger Wicker.
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