Do illegal immigrants receive more government benefits than they pay in taxes?
Posted April 3rd, 2008 by
Joel
The Associated Press
Day
laborers, who identified themselves as illegal immigrants looking for
work, gather around a potential employer that stopped to hire workers
at a street corner where illegal immigrants gather in Dallas.
One
of the most common criticisms of illegal immigration is that immigrants
pay little or no taxes, yet still receive government services paid for
by tax-paying U.S. citizens. This criticism was repeated again recently by Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman as she opened her campaign for governor of that state:
The Republican presented a report to a
Senate committee, expounding on the burden that illegal workers place
on the state and federal government. Such workers and their employers
avoided paying between $242 million and $449 million a year in income
and payroll taxes for Social Security, Medicare and unemployment
insurance, she said.
“So the problem is quite evident,” Steelman said.
“It also creates an unfair advantage for employers who are not paying
those taxes over companies that do pay the required taxes.”
Steelman, it turned out, misread a study on the topic and
overestimated the amount of unpaid taxes. But she asserted that her
general claim -- that the hiring of illegal immigrants robs government
of taxes. Is it true?
It may depend on whether you take a long-term or short-term view of
the topic. In the short term, experts seem to agree, illegal immigrants
tend to receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes. The disparity
has given rise to a Web site created by the conservative Heritage
Foundation: No Free Mustang.
Why is it called that? Robert Rector explains:
"The average illegal immigrant family receives
an average of $30,000 in governmental benefits! Yet they pay only about
$9,000 in taxes per year. That creates a $21,000 shortfall that the
American taxpayer has to make up. That's like buying each of the
illegal immigrant families a brand new Mustang convertible -- each and
every year!"
The Center for Immigration Studies, a vocal opponent of illegal immigration, looked at "The High Cost of Cheap Labor"
in 2004 and found that illegal immigrant families tended to receive
fewer welfare and Medicaid benefits than other households -- but even
then, didn't pay enough in taxes to cover the cost.
Based on Census Bureau data, this study finds
that, when all taxes paid (direct and indirect) and all costs are
considered, illegal households created a net fiscal deficit at the
federal level of more than $10 billion in 2002. We also estimate that,
if there was an amnesty for illegal aliens, the net fiscal deficit
would grow to nearly $29 billion.
In terms
of welfare use, receipt of cash assistance programs tends to be very
low, while Medicaid use, though significant, is still less than for
other households. Only use of food assistance programs is significantly
higher than that of the rest of the population. Also, contrary to the
perceptions that illegal aliens don't pay payroll taxes, we estimate
that more than half of illegals work "on the books." On average,
illegal households pay more than $4,200 a year in all forms of federal
taxes. Unfortunately, they impose costs of $6,950 per household.
The disparity might be higher, but the Reason Foundation's Shikha Dalmia noted in 2006
that the federal government had long since cracked down on benefits to illegal immigrants.
The 1996 welfare reform bill disqualified
illegal immigrants from nearly all means-tested government programs
including food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid and Medicare-funded
hospitalization. The only services that illegals can still get are
emergency medical care and K-12 education.
According to a study by the Urban
Institute, the 1996 welfare reform effort dramatically reduced the use
of welfare by undocumented immigrant households, exactly as intended.
The exception for K-12 education, though, is a pretty big one -- and
it's borne, generally, by state and local governments. Wisconsin is an
example, as shown in this report
on a study in March by that state's Policy Research Institute:
The data show Brown County loses an average of about $9 million a year on immigrants. In other words, immigrants consume more in state and local services than they pay into
the system through state and local taxes. The biggest cost burden is
education for children, which is the most expensive public service.
On the other hand, the presence of illegal immigrants in the United
States has apparently bolstered the finances of Social Security. Many
undocumented workers pay into the system, but never retire or receive a
dime from the program, as the New York Times reported in 2005:
As the debate over Social Security heats up, the
estimated seven million or so illegal immigrant workers in the United
States are now providing the system with a subsidy of as much as $7
billion a year.
While it has been evident for years that illegal
immigrants pay a variety of taxes, the extent of their contributions to
Social Security is striking: the money added up to about 10 percent of
last year's surplus.
That continues to be true, according to an April 2 editorial in the Times:
In the fine print of the 2008 annual report on Social
Security, released last week, the program’s trustees noted that growing
numbers of “other than legal” workers are expected to bolster the
program over the coming decades.
We’re not
talking chump change. According to the report, the taxes paid by
other-than-legal immigrants will close 15 percent of the system’s
projected long-term deficit. That’s equivalent to raising the payroll
tax by 0.3 percentage points, starting today.
And in a 2007 report, the White House Council of Economic Advisers
asserted that, over the long haul, immigrants end up paying off:
The long-run impact of immigration on public
budgets is likely to be positive. Projections of future taxes and
government spending are subject to uncertainty, but a careful study
published by the National Research Council estimated that immigrants
and their descendants would contribute about $80,000 more in taxes (in
1996 dollars) than they would receive in public services.
The overall effect, the council said, is a bit of a wash -- and a minor one at that:
The long-term fiscal approach
imparts four main lessons: 1) although subject to uncertainty, it
appears that immigration has a slightly positive long-run fiscal
impact; 2) skilled immigrants have a more positive impact than others;
3) the positive fiscal impact tends to accrue at the federal level, but
net costs tend to be concentrated at the state and local level; and 4)
the overall fiscal effect of immigration is not large relative to the
volume of total tax revenues – immigration is unlikely to cure or cause
significant fiscal imbalances.
As Congress in 2007 debated a bill that would create a "pathway to
citizenship" for immigrants already in the United States, the Congressional Budget Office weighed in with a mixed fiscal review of the proposal:
The immigration bill before Congress would
cost the federal government roughly $18 billion over the next decade,
largely because of the huge costs of additional border control and law
enforcement measures, according to an analysis released yesterday by
the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The analysis found that over the next decade, newly legalized
immigrants and guest workers would generate $48 billion in additional
tax and Social Security revenues, while using about $23 billion worth
of tax credits and social services. Thus, the newly legal immigrant
population would contribute a net of about $26 billion over the decade,
the report said.
Over the long haul, the
bill would be a virtual fiscal wash, costing after 20 years a few
billion dollars a year more in enforcement and government assistance
than the Treasury would get back in tax revenues from the foreign-born
workers, the study said.
So: Immigrants consume far more in government benefits than they pay in taxes. Truth or not?
L.A. mayor chides ICE for workplace immigration raids
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Villaraigosa
tells Homeland Security chief that agents should target criminal gang
members and not legitimate businesses. Agency spokeswoman says the
priorities are proper.
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 10, 2008
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has asked the federal
government to review its immigration enforcement priorities, warning
that work-site raids on "non-exploitative" businesses could have
"severe and lasting effects" on the local economy.
"I am
concerned that ICE enforcement actions are creating an impression that
this region is somehow less hospitable to these critical businesses
than other regions," Villaraigosa wrote in a March 27 letter to Michael
Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Immigration
and Customs Enforcement has cracked down on businesses that hire
undocumented workers in California and around the nation in recent
years, arresting scores of workers and their employers. In fiscal 2007,
ICE made more than 4,900 work-site arrests, a 45-fold increase over the
number in 2001, authorities said.
In February, more than 130
undocumented workers were arrested at a Van Nuys manufacturing company
during an ongoing investigation. Last week, more than 60 workers were
arrested on immigration violations during routine federal inspections
at South Bay area import warehouses. Other Los Angeles companies,
including giant clothing manufacturer American Apparel, have reported
that ICE recently inquired about its hiring procedures.
In
his letter, Villaraigosa said ICE has targeted "established,
responsible employers" in industries that have a "significant reliance
on workforces that include undocumented immigrants."
"In these
industries, including most areas of manufacturing, even the most
scrupulous and responsible employers have no choice but to rely on
workers whose documentation, while facially valid, may raise questions
about their lawful presence," he wrote. He said ICE should spend its
limited resources targeting employers who exploit wage and hour laws.
"At
a time when we are facing an economic downturn and gang violence at
epidemic levels, the federal government should focus its resources on
deporting criminal gang members rather than targeting legitimate
businesses," said Matt Szabo, the mayor's spokesman.
Chertoff has not responded to the mayor's letter.
But
Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said the department
believes its priorities are correct. In its work-site investigations,
she said, ICE's focus is on national security and public safety. The
agency also investigates companies it believes may have committed visa
fraud, money laundering, tax evasion or egregious violations of hiring
laws.
"We believe that we are prioritizing appropriately,"
Keehner said. "This is not random. The types of arrests that are made
are well thought out."
Szabo said the mayor and Los Angeles
business leaders hope to discuss their concerns with Chertoff in person
next week during an annual business trip to Washington, D.C.
Last year, Chertoff warned in an interview with The Times
that a crackdown on employers would cause "unhappy consequences for the
economy." But employers who knowingly hire illegal workers are breaking
the law, he said.
Anti-illegal immigrant advocates praised ICE's actions in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
"Cutting
off the magnet of jobs has to be the No. 1 priority if you want to get
a handle on illegal immigration," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the
Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports stricter
border controls.
Years of lax enforcement is what led to so many
illegal workers in Southern California in the first place, Mehlman
said. ICE should keep the pressure on undocumented workers and should
focus even more attention on their employers, he said.
In Los
Angeles, he said, "you take away 100 illegal aliens from these guys and
they could have 100 more before lunch. But you take the head of
personnel, that's another matter."
Immigrant rights proponents
said raids at businesses break up families, make workers more
vulnerable and give unscrupulous employers a competitive advantage.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane
Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the situation only underscores
the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
"All of the Los
Angeles economy [is paying] for the incompetence of our congressional
representatives," she said. "They haven't done what they are supposed
to do."
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce President Gary L. Toebben agreed on the need for reform legislation.
Toebben
also sent a letter to Chertoff saying that workplace raids are
"devastating" to businesses that are trying to follow the law.
Even
when employers ask for proof that new employees are eligible to work in
the U.S., there is no guarantee that the documents are valid, he said.
Businesses can use the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify
system to match employee's names and Social Security numbers with
federal databases, but critics have said that it often inaccurately
flags foreign-born U.S. citizens.
Toebben
said workplace raids can slow production or bring it to a standstill.
He said future enforcement could also discourage some companies from
hiring people who appear to be foreign-born for fear of hiring
undocumented workers and being targeted by ICE.
Toebben said he
worries that if the arrests continue, Los Angeles companies could have
"a very difficult challenge in meeting their workforce needs."
anna.gorman@latimes.comWhat do you think?
Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Traffic AccidentsOn October 19, 2003, the 29 year old, ex-quarterback for the University of Colorado football team, John Hesler,
was driving his Honda Accord on Interstate 76 in Colorado when it was
clipped by an SUV sending it across a median and into the path of a
pickup truck, causing a horrific accident. The driver and passenger of
the SUV that caused the accident fled the scene and haven't been found.
The Colorado State Patrol told Hesler's family that they most likely
are in Mexico.
As of January 2007, John Hesler was still living in a rehabilitation
center going through extensive mental and physical therapy. The car
that caused the accident did not have insurance. Since the driver was
not apprehended or ticketed nobody knows whether the driver causing the
accident had a license or not. Most likely he did not, but even if so, false documentation is a major problem in Colorado, as well as across the USA.
John Hesler was "lucky." He survived his traffic encounter with an
illegal alien but not without terrible costs to himself and family. Go
to the John Hesler website to see the journey from being on the top of the world with a full life and promise before him to:
"John's thought process improves daily which is great, but
there for awhile the realization of everything he has endured hit him
like a ton of bricks. Negative thoughts and remarks became a frequent
visitor in John's everyday life. A change was needed and we pray and
ask each of you to continue to pray that this will bring John back to a
lasting optimistic state of mind."
For a detailed report on what is happening on the roads and highways of the East Coast see the article Harvest of death on the Eastern Shore
where it is reported that while 5% of the population in the area is
Hispanic they are involved in 25% of the fatal traffic accidents, an
astounding 5 times as much participation as representation.
Given the fact that most members of the Hispanic community are law
abiding and responsible citizens, that means that a large percentage of
the illegal alien portion of the Hispanic community is even worse. How
much worse nobody knows because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.
A review of State Police auto accident reports for 2002 through 2004
for that area of the Eastern Shore also revealed that of the 179
accidents involving Hispanic laborers:
- 75% of the drivers had no auto insurance.
- Nearly all of the vehicles driven by migrants were registered to other drivers.
- 93% of the vehicles had false out-of-state tags.
In 2003 and 2004, 128 of the 395 people, 32.4%, arrested on DUI charges were Hispanic, a rate six times greater than the Hispanic portion of the population.
The
article goes on, "When crashes occur, it is not uncommon for Hispanic
drivers – often intoxicated and unlicensed – to flee before troopers
arrive. According to State Police records, about a third of accidents
involving migrant workers are hit-and-run. State Trooper Koushel said
migrants often cannot be conclusively identified when they're stopped
for a violation or involved in an accident." "Many", he said, "are
illegal aliens who carry fake or invalid driver's licenses". "Because
of that", he said, "many fail to show up in court. It's almost like
writing a ticket to a ghost."
For more information on the DUI problem, see Hispanics in crashes lead DWI stats.
Illegal aliens that drive without licenses often can not read
English. As a result, they don't know the rules of the road and can't
read highway signs. As noted in Where Illegals Go for Driver's Licenses,
North Carolina allows illegal aliens who can't speak English to bring
in their own interpreter so the English speaking examiners don't have a
clue what the applicant knows or doesn't know. Couple that with the
higher tendency for DUI driving and many illegal aliens are the worst
drivers on the road, as noted by some of the various traffic accident
statistics cited in this paper. Add in the fact that they generally
have no insurance and that makes them, as a group, the most
irresponsible drivers on the road, as well.
As noted in No license to drive: Illegal immigrant drivers creating problem in De Queen, Arkansas, population 5,765:
"Hispanic drivers in De Queen without driver's licenses
have become an accident waiting to happen, an official said. "The
majority of Hispanics have no driver's license and they're part of the
illegal immigration problem. If they're here illegally, they can't get
into the system to get driver's license. In most cases they don't have
car insurance either," said Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy.
... The drivers also have no vehicle insurance and no liability insurance, says McKelvy.
... In the last two months, De Queen has been averaging about an
accident per week involving Hispanic drivers with no driver's licenses.
Ten vehicles have been involved and the average amount of damage per
vehicle was estimated to be $3,000. So far, none of the crashes in De
Queen have been fatal."
However the consequences of illegal aliens driving have not just
been a few cars damaged as in DeQueen. Putting some of the personal
consequences of the "victimless crime" into perspective:
Police chief of the Needville Independent School District,
Chief Ernest V. Mendoza
lost his life when he was hit head on by drunken illegal alien
Guillermo Paniagua Paniagua who veered into his lane. Paniagua had four
previous drunken driving convictions. Paniagua fled the scene on foot
but was captured latter. Mendoza, a 25-year-veteran of law enforcement,
leaves behind a wife and four children.
Min Soon Chang,
a freshman from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was
killed by drunk driving illegal alien Jorge Humberto Hernandez-Soto,
who hit him while going 100 MPH the wrong way on the highway.
Hernadez-Sot had been previously deported to his native Mexico 17 times. That is not a typo.
Cheryl Ceran, 47, and two of her children, 15-year-old Ian and 7-year-old Julianna
were killed on Christmas Eve by drunk driving illegal alien Carlos
Rodolfo Prieto, 24, who ran a red light and slammed into their car.
Also injured in the crash were Cheryl Ceran's husband, Gary Ceran, 45,
their daughter, Clarissa, 19, and a son, Caleb, 12. Prieto had at least
two other drunken driving arrests and did not have a license.
Kelly Bergen,
25, a teacher, was crushed between two potato trucks, an accident
caused by an illegal alien driving without a license or insurance.
Deputy Loren Lilly,
an 18 year veteran of the Cobb County, GA, police department was killed
Christmas Eve morning on his way to work when an illegal alien swerved
into his lane. The driver, Joel Camacho Perea, faces charges of hit and
run, failure to maintain lane and driving without a license.
Marine Corporal Brian Mathews, 21, and his girlfriend Jennifer Bower, 24, were killed
by a drunk illegal alien Eduardo Raul Morales-Soriano who slammed into
their car when it was stopped at a traffic light. Corporal Mathews was
on leave, after just returning from duty in Iraq. Morales-Soriano had a
blood-alcohol level that was four times the legal limit.
20 year old Natalie Housand
was killed when illegal alien Jesus Garcia Lopez hit her car while
going 100 MPH, driving drunk. Amazingly, after the head-on collision,
Lopez fled the scene.
Donna and Sean Wilson of Juliet Tennessee, were killed by illegal alien Gustavo Reyes Garcia who had been, arrested 14 times in the previous five years
prior to when he ran into and killed them, again driving while
intoxicated. Garcia had previously been arrested 5 times on DUIs.
Tricia Ann Taylor, 17, lost both her legs above the knees when she was pinned against a wall by a drunken illegal alien with
seventeen prior violations who hit her while drag racing.
Ryan Ostendorf,
a 28 year old paramedic, who was also a Kansas University student and
who dreamed of becoming a doctor, was killed by illegal alien Victor
Anzua-Torresa who had ignored an order to receive treatment after his
previous drunken-driving conviction. Anzua-Torresa had also been previously deported in 2000 and been arrested for several other offenses, including possession of drug paraphernalia.
5-year-old Felix Leon was killed in a hit and run accident by illegal alien Carlos Jaramillo.
James F. Rogers Jr.,
18, of North Jackson, TN was killed by Luis Oscar Garcia, a Mexican who
had been living in the U.S. without a green card for three years.
Garcia ran a red light. In addition to the vehicular homicide and DUI
charges, Garcia faces counts of driving without a license, registration
or proof of insurance. When police did a check on his license plate, it
did not come back under his name.
Joshua Morrow, 4, and his uncle, Ronald Bishop were killed by an illegal alien who left the scene of the accident.
Christopher Shackleford, 19, Julieanne Pascoe, 18, and Kelli Bourgeois, 18, were all killed in Marietta, Georgia, by an illegal alien drunk driver. He did not have a valid driver's license or insurance but did have a blood alcohol level at twice the legal limit.
Brandon Haley, 31, was killed while riding his bicycle in a hit and run by illegal alien Lazardo Lobaton.
The Marti family, pictured here during a happy moment that no longer exists. Sean, just 24 years old, and his daughter Sage, 5 months old,
were killed by a drunk illegal alien
who was driving the wrong way on Highway 84 in Idaho. Natalie Marti was
in a coma for two weeks after the head-on crash, spent two months in
the hospital, and has suffered brain damage from a traumatic head
wound.
Chicago Police Officer Michael Gordon
lost his life to a drunken illegal alien driver. Officer Gordon was in
the driver's seat of his squad car when it was struck by Luis Calle, a
Guatemalan, whose blood alcohol level was 0.177, twice the legal limit.
Helen Hughes, 22, Jennifer Carter, 18, and Hughes' stepbrother, 16-year-old Ben Leonard were all killed by an illegal alien, who allegedly was driving drunk, and already had a long record of crime in the United States.
22-year-old Amy Kortlang was killed by an illegal alien driving without a license and while drunk. The illegal alien driver had been
previously deported, barely six months prior to causing the accident.
Oakland Police Officer Will Seuis was killed on his ride home by an illegal alien. A sixteen-year veteran of the Police Department, Officer Seuis was remembered at his funeral
as a hard-working cop who had received 33 letters of appreciation from
citizens, including one from a motorist he had ticketed. The illegal
alien had a long history of traffic convictions.
Peggy Keller, dean of distance education at Yakima Valley Community College, was killed by a twice deported illegal alien who was driving under the influence of methamphetamines.
19 year old Travis Smith was killed
when he was struck head-on by a vehicle driven by an illegal alien who
was transporting four other illegal aliens to Pennsylvania.
Six year old Annie Cumpston was killed in a hit-and-run
accident in downtown Baltimore by a truck driven by illegal alien
Guillermo Diaz when it veered into the crosswalk as she and her family
were leaving the circus. When Diaz was arrested, he did not have a
driver's license, the tags on the truck were expired and his
blood-alcohol level was 0.07 percent. Diaz had been in the United
States illegally for four years doing construction work. He received 10
years in prison but is eligible for parole in just two years. This is
an example of a horrific crime where all the easy to find references
are gone but you can find the story at archived at CRIME VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS.
The above are only a small sampling. Be sure to see the links at the end of this section.
How bad is the problem getting? See: The Carnage of Unisured Motorists for a detailed report on the havoc caused by illegal alien drivers in an East Coast community and Numbers flabbergast legislators - Crashes, arrests highlight illegal immigration problem, lawmakers say where over a few days of bad weather in Colorado over 100 illegal aliens were in auto accidents or given traffic tickets.
For a growing twist on the problem, see: Illegals without driver's licenses register cars and Dangerous Loophole Allows Illegal Drivers On Road.
Finally,
it is worth noting that illegal alien drivers are not only killing
Americans and themselves. Some of the most horrific accidents are as a
result of an illegal alien transporting other illegal aliens. For a few
examples, see:
Van stuffed full of immigrants takes deadly roll or
9 suspected illegal immigrants killed in Yuma crash or
Driver in Crash Held on Smuggling Counts.
In the first two incidents there were 21 illegal aliens in the vehicles
that got into the accident. In the third there were "only" 11 in the
van with four dying. The emergency services and medical costs on the
local community for such accidents are enormous and especially
burdensome on the smaller rural communities.
Who pays for the carnage? American citizens, of course. As noted in When illegal immigrants crash, taxpayers usually foot the bill,
"the only trauma center in Southern Arizona, Tucson's University
Medical Center ... At the current run rate we'll incur 5 - 6 million
dollars in un-reimbursed costs for taking care of foreign nationals."
That is just the unpaid emergency medical costs for one hospital in one
city. Since there is no such thing as a free lunch, the insured pay for
treating the uninsured through higher medical costs and insurance
premiums.
How many Americans are being killed in traffic accidents by illegal aliens? As noted by a Media Matters article interview, Boyles guest acknowledges "no one really knows how many Americans per day are being killed by illegal aliens" as
it is all a guess based on bits and pieces starting with the fact that
nobody really knows how many illegal aliens are actually in the USA.
Again, it comes back to nobody knows because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.
Looking at one particularly egregious component of traffic
accidents, hit and runs, nationally 11 of every 100 traffic accidents
are a hit and run. After a hit and run driver flees the accident scene,
something very common when the driver is an illegal alien, the
unfortunate victim is responsible for all the expenses, as well as
suffering the inconvenience of being without a car while it's being
repaired.
Fortunately, the vast majority of hit and run accidents only cause
vehicle damage but many drivers, including, most notably, illegal
aliens, do not have insurance, let alone adequate insurance, to handle
any expenses, even if only to repair the unfortunate victim's car.
Thus, if you do not carry comprehensive insurance on an older car and
are hit by an illegal alien that destroys your car, you are left
without a car. As bad as that can be, unfortunately, there are also
many deaths and serious injuries as well, for which the victim's
insurance must also pay. Although they may be hidden in some
states, these costs are represented in the "uninsured drivers" portion
of your auto insurance premium.
As noted in Not all Hit and Run Accident Victims Die,
often the injuries are often crippling, life long, and require many
years of treatments and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of
dollars in medical costs.
How many hit and run accidents are there and what is the participation of illegal aliens? As reported by
Deadly Roads,
as of December 29, there were 1,544 killed and 105,078 injured in hit
and run accidents in 2006. Extrapolating for the year, 2006 will end up
with about 1,560 killed and 105,948 injured by hit and run drivers. If
the illegal alien population was responsible for just 5% of the
carnage, that would result in 78 killed and 5,297 injured. However, as
previously noted, the data suggests that the proportional involvement
of illegal aliens in traffic accidents is actually far higher and there
is no reason to believe it would be any different for hit and run
accidents. In fact, if anything, the participation of illegal aliens is
probably even higher but, again, NOBODY IS TRACKING IT so nobody really
knows.
For what is happening in California see California's hit-and-run crisis - More flee fatal accidents here than any other state where it is reported: "
"The number of fatal hit-and- run traffic deaths statewide
jumped by 19 percent from 1999 to 2001, federal statistics show. Nearly
300 people are killed annually in hit-and-run accidents in the state.
Hit-and-runs accounted for 7.8 percent of the state's fatal crashes
in 2001, the latest year for which figures are available from the U.S.
Transportation Department. The figure is more than twice the national
average of 3.8 percent - and a full percentage point higher than the
next-highest state, Arizona."
In Spiral Of Immigrant Corruption In America,
Frosty Wooldridge says, "To give you an idea of how fast the United
States careens into Third World standard operating procedure, in
Greeley, Colorado last year, police recorded 270 hit and run accidents
for that year. Greeley, with less than 70,000 residents, houses the
largest contingent of (illegal alien) Mexicans in Colorado."
While anecdotal, it fits the pattern as California has the highest
illegal alien population of all states, Arizona has the second highest,
and Greeley is reported to have one of the highest percentage
concentration of illegal aliens in Colorado. In any case, nobody that I
am aware of is correlating the incidence of hit-and-run accidents with
the illegal alien population.
As noted in a 2003 article in the Austin American Statesmen, A troubling trend: Hispanics and DWI - Latinos account for nearly half of 2002 Austin arrests:
"Of 3,007 drunken driving arrests in 2002, 43 percent
involved Hispanic men, even though they make up only about 11 percent
of Austin's driving population.
Including women, Hispanics made up 47 percent of the DWI arrests but only 21 percent of Austin drivers.
... Statewide, 42 percent of the people arrested in 2002 for driving
while intoxicated were Latino, according to the Texas Department of
Public Safety.
In Austin, 46 percent of the people arrested for drunk driving from
1999 to 2002 were Latino, according to the Austin Police Department."
As noted in a December 2005 article, Durham court outreaches to Latinos to prevent DWI, by Paul Savery in the Carolina NewsWire:
"46% OF INDIVIDUALS CHARGED WITH DWI ARE LATINO ACCORDING TO STUDY OF TRAFFIC CHARGES IN DURHAM COURT
... Latinos are over represented among individuals charged with DWI
in Durham. Latinos account for 7.6% of Durham's population, but account
for a much greater percentage of those individuals charged with DWIs
and other traffic offenses.
In Durham 44% (589) of individuals charged with a traffic offense
are Latino and 40% (74) of all individuals charged with a DWI were
Latino. (Based on the Coalition's sampling of data from the Durham
Traffic Court dockets. A one week period (5 days) of Durham Traffic
Court was selected at random from each of the last 3 months of 2004 and
yielded a total sample of 1338 of individuals charged with traffic
offences.)
In Durham 46% (253) of individuals charged with DWI are Latino. 99%
(251) of Latinos charged with DWI were male, with an average age of 27
years old. (Based on the Coalition's examination of the Durham City
Police Department's 2004 DWI Arrest Record which accounts for all the
DWI arrests (801) from 1-1-04 to 12-31-04.)
The Latino community in Durham is paying a terrible cost for the
high rate of drinking and driving. Apart from the cost of legal fees,
fines, lost wages from DWI convictions, the cost of drinking and
driving in terms of death and injury is also high. Recent data for
2002-2003 from a local trauma center shows that 43% of Latino
admissions are due to motor vehicle collisions and a significant number
involved alcohol use."
As noted in a July 2006 article Illegal Immigrants Filling Jails - Sheriff's department officials around state predict thing will worsen in the Carolina Journal Print by Karen Welsh:
"RALEIGH - County jails throughout North Carolina are
stressed to the limit with illegal immigrants, law-enforcement
officials say.
... Kevin Jastzabski, prison captain for the Lee County Sheriff's
Department, said the number of Hispanics clogging the county's system
is getting larger everyday. "We do have a problem, and it is going to
keep on growing," he said "It doesn't look like it's going to slow down
any time soon."
... It's not racial discrimination, as some have feared, but
cultural differences that are putting most of the illegal immigrants
behind bars.
The arrests are legitimate, Jones said, and arise mostly from drug
trafficking or driving under the influence of alcohol in Alamance
County. DUI is the number one killer of Hispanic males in the state, he
said.
"There are cultural differences," he said. "They drink and drive.
It's culturally acceptable for them to do that. When we bring them in,
they are usually double the legal limit. But law-enforcement officers
have been called racist and have been accused of singling out
Hispanics. Now the statistics are showing we were probably right from
the onset - law-enforcement-wise."
As noted in a December 2006 article by Jared Allen in the Nashville City Paper, Male Hispanics responsible for disproportionate number of fatal car crashes:
"As a percentage of Nashville's population, male Hispanics
have been responsible for a greater percentage of fatal traffic
accidents this year than any other demographic, police data show.
... While the U.S. Census bureau estimates that Hispanics made up
approximately 6.3 percent of Nashville's population in 2004, police say
they were responsible for 17 percent of the fatal car wrecks that have
occurred so far in 2006.
... Since the summer, Nashville's Hispanic leaders have weathered a
tempest caused by a number of deadly, high- profile accidents police
say came at the hands of Latinos, three quarters of whom were allegedly
drunk, and some who have been identified as illegal immigrants.
"As a cultural group, Hispanics are responsible for more fatal
accidents then they are entitled to ... based on their percentage of
the population," said Metro Police Sgt. William Keeter, supervisor of
traffic analysis, hit and runs and fatal crash investigations.
... At the same time, though, alcohol was a contributing factor in
75 percent of the fatal car crashes caused this year by Hispanics, a
far higher percentage than with other groups, police said.
Keeter said the rate of alcohol-caused crashes among whites, Blacks, Asians and others is usually about 40 percent."
Over on the West Coast the problem persists but, interestingly, not at the same rate in one report. As noted in DUI's culture gap -Latinos in S.J. account for disproportionate amount of arrests:
"Approximately 2,000 Latino men like Mercado were arrested
in Stockton between 2000 and 2004 on suspicion of driving under the
influence of alcohol. They accounted for at least 54 percent of all DUI
arrests in Stockton, according to the Police Department, although
Latinos make up just 35.3 percent of the city's population, based on
the latest estimates from the California Department of Finance.
In 2004 alone, police arrested 4,242 people on DUI charges in San
Joaquin County, according to the California Department of Justice.
Latinos accounted for 46.8 percent of the arrests but only 33.1 percent
of the county's population. In Stockton, 59 percent of the 883 DUI
arrestees that year were Latino men, the highest percentage of any city
in San Joaquin County."
Maybe the Hispanics in California are drinking more wine. Regardless, the article goes on to note:
"The Latino community creates its own problems," said Joe
Ynostroza, technical assistance director for the California Hispanic
Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Sacramento, a nonprofit
educational organization. The problem is especially acute in Mexico.
"Most of this is first- or second-generation Mexican males," he said. "Alcoholism runs rampant in the Mexican Latino community."
No other ethnic or racial group has such a high level of DUI arrests
statewide, according to the California Department of Justice"
How much of this is attributable to Hispanic illegal aliens nobody
knows because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT. The lower number may actually be a
result of the larger Hispanic community where the vast majority of
Hispanics are law abiding and are not committing DUI/DWIs.
In any case, note the references to "cultural differences," an issue discussed in the following section.
While fairly small samples, the reports indicate that Hispanics are
involved in DWIs at a rate that is often three to five times than their
representation in the population. That is an amazing statistic. The
impact of Hispanic illegal alien DWIs on the resident Hispanic portion
of the overall DWI statistics is unknown but is undoubtedly very large
and giving the Hispanic community a very bad reputation and reinforcing
old stereotypes.
In any case, nobody tracks DUIs/DWIs OR accidents by resident
status. As previously noted, coming up with a more accurate number is
complicated by the fact that the MSM seem to go out of their way to not
report residential status of the person involved in the crime or
accident. Even in some of the references used in this report you will
have to dig deep to find the resident status of the perpetrator.
Regardless, the number is considerable and we need to ask ourselves if
having 5% collateral damage for a "victimless crime" is acceptable.
If 5% is acceptable, then how about 25%?
In 2000, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a comprehensive report Unlicensed to Kill detailing
the carnage being caused by unlicensed drivers. While the report did
not identify if the unlicensed drivers were illegal aliens or not, it
did note that of the 278,078 drivers involved in fatal crashes in the
US between 1993 and 1997 some 3.7% were unlicensed, 2.7% were of
unknown licensed status, and another 7.4% were driving on invalid
licenses. The end result is that during the period 42,049 people were
killed in crashes involving at least one driver who was unlicensed,
driving on an invalid license, or with a license of unknown status. The
report also notes that DUI drivers also played a significant part in
the highway carnage.
As previously noted, a high percentage of illegal aliens tend to
drive without licenses and fake licenses. While the number of illegal
aliens involved in the 278,078 fatal crashes caused by drivers with no
or improper licenses during the examined period is unknown, if just 5%
of the 42,049 deaths were caused by illegal aliens that is over 2,000
American citizens killed during the five year period which is an
average of 400 citizens per year. The absolute number of traffic deaths
caused by illegal aliens driving without licenses is unknown, but most likely much higher than just a 5% participation rate.
In 2003, the AAA Foundation released Unlicensed to Kill – the Sequel,
which goes into more detail regarding state practices. The report noted
that the data showed a wide variation across states in the proportions
of drivers involved in fatal crashes who lacked a valid license – from
a low of 6.1% in Maine to a high of 23.1% in New Mexico. Arizona and
California closely followed New Mexico. Reviewing the involvement,
there is a strong correlation between the percentages and the states
with higher proportions of illegal aliens, although the report does not
make that link. By-the-way, regardless of residency status, both
reports basically say that vehicle impoundment is the best method to
prevent unlicensed drivers from killing people, as most offenders are
usually arrested on prior DUIs. California also uses it to get older,
more polluting vehicles off the roadway and their laws have resulted in
forfeiture in approximately half the cases. Evidently in California it
is OK to kill people while driving without a license but not OK to gas
them with a little more pollution. The report also noted that in the
vast majority of cases, an unlicensed driver with a DUI was not the
owner of the vehicle.
In any case, compare the AAA's data with the information from the East Coast in the article Harvest of death on the Eastern Shore where the participation of illegal aliens is actually noted.
As reported in a 2001 article, Cultural Impact,
from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD): "... when you combine the
Hispanic drinking culture with the lack of education on drunk driving
prevention, you end up with tragic consequences." The article goes on,
"According to research compiled by Dr. Catherine Clark of the Alcohol
Policy Group in Berkeley, Calif., Hispanic drivers are more likely than
Anglo drivers to consume more alcohol more frequently and have been
shown to be more likely than Anglos to drive with a blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) level over .05 percent." MADD's data indicate that 42% of all traffic fatalities involved alcohol, the percentage is increasing, and Hispanics as a group are involved at a much higher rate than their portion of the population.
Is the percentage of fatalities involving alcohol increasing because
of the increasing component of Hispanic illegal alien drivers? Again,
nobody knows but the data would suggest it.
As noted in a Pan American Health Organization World Health Day 2004: Road Safety report:
"In the United States, motor vehicle crashes are the
leading cause of death for Hispanics between the ages of 1 and 34, and
the third leading cause of death for all ages surpassed only by heart
disease and cancer, according to the U.S. Transportation Department's
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
NHTSA also found that Hispanics are less likely to wear a seat
belt. In addition, a NHTSA study said, "although Hispanic male
teenagers travel fewer miles than their white counterparts, they are
nearly twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle crash."
Do you suppose the tendency of Hispanics to be involved in DUI/DWIs at far greater rates might have something to do with that?
According to a NHSTA press release, there were 16,885 alcohol-related fatalities in 2005. The press release
notes "According to the data released today, the highest percentage of
drivers in alcohol-related fatal crashes was for male drivers ages 21
to 34 (33 percent), followed by males age 35 to 44 (25 percent).
As to be expected, the NHSTA does not track fatalities by ethnicity
or citizenship. Interestingly, even the CDC's National Center for
Injury Prevention and Control will not even identify "Hispanics" or
"illegal aliens" as part of their Impaired Driving Groups at Risk,
despite overwhelming evidence of the alarmingly high risks for these
two groups. They will, however, provide the fact sheet page in Spanish.
The estimates on the number of illegal aliens in the USA range from
a generally accepted low of 12 million to a few estimates of 20-25 or
more million. One report, Census Bureau Distortions Hide Immigration Crisis- Real Numbers Much Higher, says that the numbers may actually be far higher.
For the sake of argument I'll use 15 million. Assuming equal
automobile ownership, a straight proportional representation of illegal
aliens in traffic accidents can now be estimated. Thus 15 million
illegal aliens in a population of 300 million is a 5% representation
level. However, as some data has suggested the actual participation may
be much greater than the representation and lower automobile ownership
would also increase the participation rate.
If we were to apply the 5% illegal alien representation in the
population to the 16,885 alcohol related fatalities it results in 844
deaths. However, it is worth noting that Representative King states in Biting the Hand That Feeds You that illegal aliens are responsible for 4,745 deaths. I believe Congressman King based his numbers on two GAO reports (d05337r and d05646r)
on the number of incarcerated illegal aliens and the total number of
incarcerated prisoners and applying the resulting percentage to the
NHSTA's numbers. Based on this estimate, illegal aliens would be
responsible for about 28.1% of the total alcohol related deaths which
means that illegal aliens are responsible for 5.6 times as many deaths
as representation. While on the high side, note how close that is to
the participation in the limited DWI studies referenced earlier.
Whether or not illegal aliens are involved in all traffic accidents
at the same rate as DWIs is unknown because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.
In any case, the NHTSA reported
that in 2004 there were 6,181,000 traffic accidents that killed 42,636
and injured 2,788,000. They also reported that the economic costs for
traffic accidents in 2000 was $230.6 Billion. If illegal aliens are
responsible for just 5% of it, that is 309,050 accidents, 2,132 deaths,
139,400 injuries, and a cost of $11.5 billion.
If Congressman King is correct and if illegal aliens are involved in
all traffic accidents at the higher participation rate, multiply those
figures by 5.6.
Regardless of the actual amount, unquestionably illegal aliens are
involved in traffic accidents, hit and runs, DWIs, and drunk driving
deaths at rates that are far higher than their representation in the
population - as much as five times greater. Even if only twice as much,
I'll let you do the math on the collateral damage and carnage being
inflicted by illegal aliens.
It is worth repeating that NOBODY IS TRACKING the illegal alien
component of the traffic accident carnage. This makes it impossible to
do an accurate cost/benefit analysis to see if the collateral damage is
worth having them here. However, there are strong indications that we
are paying a horrendous cost with scores of Americans, and illegal
aliens, being injured and killed on America's highways and byways as a
direct result of illegal alien drivers.
So much for a "victimless crime."
As detailed in this section, illegal alien drivers, as a group, are
probably the absolute worst drivers on the road. They are, without
question, the most irresponsible.
Illegal alien drivers kill and injure far more children than alar, second hand smoke, and Mark Foley.
Combined.
Which got all the press?
In tolerating illegal immigration, exactly how many Americans do YOU
accept being injured and killed by illegal aliens in traffic accidents?
In accepting the collateral damage of illegal immigration, how many people can be killed by drunk-driving illegal aliens?
How many American children is it
acceptable to have seriously injured, permanently maimed, and killed by
grossly irresponsible illegal alien drivers to save ten cents on a head
of lettuce?
