Undocumented Immigrants Financial Plus for State, Drag on Local Gov

In her nearly forgotten capacity as state comptroller, Carole Keeton Strayhorn just released "Undocumented Immigrants in Texas: A Financial Analysis of the Impact to the State Budget and Economy." Strayhorn says it's the "first time any state has done a comprehensive financial analysis of the impact of undocumented immigrants on a state's budget and economy, looking at gross state product, revenues generated, taxes paid and the cost of state services."

Cutting to the juicy stuff, her statement continues: "The absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our gross state product of $17.7 billion. Undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues, which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received. However, local governments bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs not paid for by the state."

The report is available at the comptroller's Web site here.