How much does the US border pay for the US border crisis?

The situation on the southern border of America for several years remains in the focus of public attention. The humanitarian crisis in Latin America continues to trigger a flow of refugees through Mexico, along with a notable change in immigration policy. An even darker problem is that it is associated with a number of controversial issues in domestic politics, and this affects the views of people, writes GOBankingRates.

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One way to put all options into perspective is to examine the financial cost to the U.S. taxpayer of the border crisis. Of course, it does not address deeper issues, but a clear understanding of the financial implications can bring some clarity to the issue. So what is causing the border crisis and how much is it costing American taxpayers?

Causes of the border crisis

There has always been a stream of people interested in coming to the United States from Latin America and wanting to circumvent the law. In recent years, violent violence in countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador has sparked a surge in security seekers by applying for asylum in the United States.

The need to leave their homes to seek life elsewhere can be explained by the shocking levels of violence in these countries caused by drug smuggling and rival street gangs. Honduras and El Salvador have 2 of the 5 highest murder rates per capita in the world (as of 2017, the rates were 42 and 62 murders per 100 people, respectively). When you consider the same rate in the United States—just 000 per 5—it becomes clear that levels of violence south of the border are incomparably higher.

The cost of the crisis since the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Any attempt to understand the price of specific government actions can easily be lost in the details, since the details of various programs are often difficult to understand. The starting point is to consider the total costs of immigration enforcement since the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security.

This amount amounts to about $330 billion for 2003-2019, or about $20,5 billion annually over a 16-year period. A tiny fraction of the total federal budget - which was about $2003 trillion in 2 and has since grown to $4 trillion.

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The cost of illegal immigration

Any costs associated with border policies should be clearly filtered out taking into account the potential costs of illegal immigration. This is an extremely controversial issue on which there is no clear consensus. Many conservative groups point to an increase in the cost of public services created for illegal immigrants. For example, the Heritage Foundation estimated the cost of public services provided to undocumented immigrants at $ 54 billion a year.

Critics will point out that most of these costs come in the form of public education, which pays off over time. Not only do undocumented immigrants pay taxes of about $ 11,6 billion a year, but studies have also shown that the cost of these services is more than offset in future generations. The second generation of immigrants is invariably among the most able-bodied members of society, bringing significant tax revenues. A 2017 report by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that although undocumented immigrants cost the government about $ 1600 a year, second-generation immigrants make $ 1700 a year in profit, whereas for citizens born in the country , only 1300 dollars.

Cost of detaining migrants

The current crisis has entailed a number of new costs in addressing the influx of asylum seekers into the United States. In particular, the question arose: how exactly to place and care for those people who have come a long way from Mexico in search of a better life.

Policy changes

Two major changes in American immigration policy have had a major impact on the development of the current crisis. First is the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which encourages migrants waiting to seek asylum in the United States to remain on the southern side of the border - a policy that has helped limit the flow of people across the border but has drawn criticism over the conditions of migrant camps in Mexico.

The second is a failed attempt to end the so-called “catch and release” approach to asylum seekers. This allowed people seeking asylum in the United States to enter the country while awaiting trial. The administration argued that many of these asylum seekers take advantage of this policy by entering the United States and not returning to their court dates. In turn, the administration chose to detain most of them at the border.

This fact has become the source of some of the biggest contradictions, since there are many stories about the deplorable conditions in which many of these people were held, not to mention the concern about attempts to introduce a policy of separation of families in these cases.

Cost of detaining asylum seekers

Detaining asylum seekers in the United States can be costly. The 2018 budget for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called for per-adult costs of $133,99 per day, although many groups critical of the policy estimate it to be more than $200. Overall, in the 2018 budget year, DHS spent just over $3 billion—or about $8,5 million a day—detaining migrants at the border rather than releasing them into the United States to await trial.

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Cost of separation policies

The highly controversial practice of separating children from their families appears to significantly increase the cost of the program. According to DHS, the cost of keeping a child in a separate institution, such as one of the “tent camps” built after an increased flow of migrants at the border, is $ 775 per day, compared to $ 300 for keeping these children in families at permanent or temporary facilities .

However, policy advocates are likely to point out that it has always been intended as a deterrent to convince potential migrants still in Central America not to make the long and dangerous journey through Mexico to the American border. The controversial policy was officially completed in June 2018, although critics claimed it was still ongoing.

Is there a need to detain asylum seekers?

Critics of the Trump administration will also note that, regardless of actual costs, the detention of asylum seekers at the border is not necessary. A recent study by the Transactional Records Information Exchange Center (TRAC) found that about 99% of those asylum seekers who were not detained or released from custody eventually returned to a court hearing, indicating a minimal need. in places of detention.

Additional Funding Allocated by Congress in 2019

Last May, the Trump administration was forced to turn to Congress to receive additional, emergency funding, approved for the maintenance of the temporary detention facilities it created. Approved $ 4,5 billion covers the huge cost of food and care for the approximately 23 unaccompanied children currently held in institutions in the southwest.

Border wall cost

Any discussion of the border crisis would be incomplete without mentioning the means of protection against illegal immigrants supported by President Trump and many Republicans: the border wall. The idea of ​​a concrete wall was largely rejected due to a lack of affordable funding, but the Trump administration used extraordinary powers to redirect funding from other sources to build sections in strategic locations.

To date, the White House has allocated a total of $ 11 billion, resulting in running costs of $ 19,4 million per mile of the constructed wall. This is largely consistent with the cost estimate of the Office of Management and Budget in a letter to Congress asking the president to ask for $ 5,7 billion to build a fence more than 234 miles from the border, which is about $ 24,4 million per mile.

However, it would raise the cost of the entire barrier to nearly $ 60 billion, according to the Cato Institute.

The final “cost” is more than money

If this issue was determined only by dollars and cents, it probably would not be the source of such a contradiction. For both key critics and proponents of recent political changes, people's view of politics is likely to be shaped more by the moral issue than by the potential price.

Critics would probably point out that conditions for migrants and asylum seekers at the border are inhuman and unsustainable, regardless of their value.

But those who support the administration are likely more motivated by concerns about the underlying rule of law surrounding the immigration system, which makes the cost of detention centers — and even a border wall — fair to them.

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