More on the Local Costs of Immigration

The N.Y. Times reports on a new study concluding that counties along the Mexican border are shortchanged millions of dollars a year in costs related to the criminal costs of undocumented immigrants. The study was by the University of Arizona and San Diego State University on behalf of the United States/Mexico Border Counties Coalition, a group representing the 24 border counties.   For commentary on the study at Grits for Breakfast, click here.

This study highlights some of the local costs of immigration that the federal government, which gets the bulk of tax benefits for immigration, should help out with — especially because immigration regulation is a primarily, if not exclusively, federal power.  As I have argued before, the proper response to such costs is to seek federal assistance, not clamoring for misguided measures (that are doomed to failure) at closing the borders or anti-immigrant ordinances that foment hate and worsen the local climate for immigrants.

KJ