The Real Cost of Illegal Immigration in 2026 — And the Real Benefit: The Data Both Sides Are Hiding

Immigration is America’s most polarizing political topic — and also the one where both sides most consistently cherry-pick data to support predetermined conclusions. qivsy Research Center presents the full picture: costs AND benefits, supported by peer-reviewed economic research, federal agency data, and independent analysis.

The Costs — Real and Documented

• Federal uncompensated costs: The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates the net federal cost of undocumented immigration at $150.7 billion annually. This includes education ($70.9B), medical care ($18.5B), justice/incarceration ($15.9B), and other public services.
• State and local burden: The costs fall disproportionately on border states. Texas, California, New York, and Florida bear an estimated 62% of total state/local costs.
• Labor displacement: Economic research finds moderate wage suppression (2-8%) for native-born workers without high school diplomas in sectors with high undocumented worker concentration — particularly agriculture, construction, and food processing.
• Public school costs: An estimated 800,000 K-12 students are children of undocumented immigrants, at an average per-pupil cost of $13,440 — total: $10.8 billion annually.

The Benefits — Also Real and Documented

• GDP contribution: The Congressional Budget Office estimates undocumented workers contribute $1.8 trillion to U.S. GDP annually. They fill labor shortages in agriculture, construction, and services that domestic workers don’t fill at the wages offered.
• Social Security contributions: Undocumented workers pay into Social Security and Medicare using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers or fraudulent SSNs — contributing an estimated $25.7 billion annually in payroll taxes to programs they cannot legally collect from.
• Agricultural dependency: 50-70% of U.S. agricultural workers are estimated to be undocumented. Without them, domestic food production capacity would fall by an estimated 15-25%, and food prices would rise significantly.
• Entrepreneurship: Immigrants (documented and undocumented combined) founded 45% of Fortune 500 companies. Undocumented immigrants specifically have disproportionately high business formation rates in construction and food service.

TRC Net Assessment

The honest economic conclusion: undocumented immigration produces a large net economic benefit at the national level, while concentrating costs disproportionately on border states, lower-income native workers, and public school systems. A federal system that captures the national benefit while compensating the local cost-bearers does not currently exist.

Neither side’s narrative is complete. Share this with people on both sides who think they know the whole story.

— Nathan Cross, qivsy Political Accountability Reporter, Washington D.C.