WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2003- Taxpayers are spending $7.4 billion a year to educate illegal alien children, finds a new analysis of Census Bureau data from the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
 

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With states straining under gaping budget shortfalls and public schools facing some of the most significant decreases in state education funding in decades, communities' tax dollars are being diverted to accommodate mass illegal immigration. In Georgia, the annual cost of educating illegal aliens for one year, if eliminated, is enough to eliminate present budget cuts in both state school and university budgets with $181 million to spare. The money could also restore the jobs of the 1,600 teachers laid off due to this year's budget cuts, and pay the salaries of another 3,873 teachers.

"The new data show that America's schoolchildren are paying the costs of our government's failure to effectively enforce immigration laws," charges Dan Stein, executive director of FAIR. "This is yet one more illustration of the costs of turning a blind eye to illegal immigration. States cannot afford to bankroll illegal immigration -- especially on the backs of our kids."

Additionally, while local governments are required to provide a free K-12 education for any child, regardless of immigration status, a growing number of states are choosing to provide subsidized in-state college tuition rates to illegal aliens as well. The report notes that doing so on a nationwide scale would raise costs by millions of dollars each year, even as public universities are raising tuition for everyone and limiting financial assistance to worthy American students.