What's more costly: undocumented immigration or the war in Iraq?

Question

“The total costs of the war, including the budgetary, social and macroeconomic costs, are likely to exceed $2 trillion,” says the Milken Institute Review.

Answer 1

Illegal immigration by far. Within 5 years the war will be long over. However, illegal immigrants will still be here and will be for 20, 30, 40, or 50 years, no to mention the fact that illegal immigration has been a major problem for at least the last 15-20 years.

When you sum all of the costs, the need to build significant new infrastructure, and government services such as schools, police stations, fire stations, jails, roads, police offices, fire fighters, etc, to support millions and millions of illegal immigrants. Not to mention all of the free medical care illegal workers use when they go to ERs to be treated or use prenatal services such as Baby Cal. All of which come out of public funds, i.e., tax dollars.

Illegal immigration cost tax payers much more than any war could ever possibly cost.

Answer 2

War has always been expensive. It is just at this time, some find the cost a convenient political weapon to be used while attacking a President that they can't get over losing to in two elections. What they don't realize (or don't care, or hope for) is the damage it causes the war effort and to the problems it causes our troops who are fighting and dying so they can sit back and Monday Morning Quarterback everything they do. Funny, at the beginning of the war, they viciously attacked the President for sending in our troops without the proper equipment (like they would know the difference between an M-16 and M-4). Too many ignored the fact that we went into battle with the equipment left after 8 years of being gutted and downsized under Bill Clinton. Now they decry the cost. Yet the equipment is more advanced than anyone would have guessed only 10 years ago. Unmanned aircraft capable of flying non-stop from California to Australia, remaining airborne for a day or longer, finding targets and destroying them with laser or GPS guided munitions does not come cheap. Yet it is what is required as the Anti-war crowd howl every time a soldier is killed and others gleefully tally up the body count. It's a disgrace.

Answer 3

The government is focusing in the immigration "problem" right now to try to distract people from other more important issues for example the war. Everybody knows the war costs a lot more money and lives but for some reason they'd rather complain about the illegal immigration because they know that there is nothing that they can say about the war because then they will be looked at as unpatriotic. But if they complain against the illegal immigration then they are all "proud americans."

Answer 4

War

Answer 5

Well, How about the unstated information? How big of an economy is there in all of the activities involving illegal immigration? Slavery, drug traffic, smuggling, public cost of upkeep, while awaiting deportation, defrauded social security and tax money, are just the tip of the economic and legal iceberg in immigration issues. I estimate one war is nothing compared to the cost of maintaining a border and immigrational law, as well as staffing the consulates overseas with staff to process those who come legally...

Answer 6

But see, the war in Iraq does something for our country and the safety of the world. The illegal immigrants just drain our funds. We don't get anything out of it.

Answer 7

Who's really thinking about the dollars spent when the real cost of a war is measured in lives lost.

Answer 8

Hands Down

War In Iraq

Cost 0f 1,891 Mile Mexican/U.S. Border Fence =
14 Days of Iraq War
Posted by The Watchdog -
August 6th, 2006
VDARE

Below is a sample of homeland security items
in the FY2007 Budget,
their estimated costs,
and the time it takes the Pentagon to burn through
the same amount in Iraq.

* 1,500 new Border Patrol agents:
$459 million ($306,000 per agent)
Iraq spending equivalent: 1.9 days

* Container Security Initiative (CSI)
to pre-screen U.S.-bound cargo
at more than 40 foreign ports:
$139 million
Iraq spending equivalent: 13.9 hours.

* An additional 6,700 Detention Bed Spaces
to replace “catch and release” with a “catch and return” policy:
$410 million.
Iraq spending equivalent: 1.7 days

* An enhanced Worksite Enforcement program
to “send a strong deterrence message to employers
who knowingly hire illegal workers…”:
$41.7 million
Iraq spending equivalent: 4.2 hours

* Border technology to enhance electronic surveillance:
$100 million
Iraq spending equivalent: 10 hours

* 18 additional Fugitive Operations teams (raising the total to 70)
dedicated to catching the estimated 450,000 individuals
who have absconded following their deportation orders:
$30 million
Iraq spending equivalent: 10 hours

* Completion of the San Diego Border Infrastructure System,
including multiple fences and patrol roads:
$30 million
Iraq spending equivalent: 3 hours

And now for the grand finale.
Although this last item is the Most costly,
it may yield one of the biggest benefits.

After the first 10 miles of border fence was completed,
arrests of illegal immigrants
trying to cross the San Diego border sector plummeted
from about 25,000 per year to 3,000 per year.
But of course the San Diego fence
pushed the illegal influx eastward,
into the (less hospitable) Arizona desert.

A serious commitment to border security
would require fencing off the entire southern border—
all 1,891 miles of it.
(For comparison, we have 40,000 miles of Interstate highways.)

At $1.7 million per mile
(the cost of the first 10 mile stretch in San Diego),
the entire U.S.-Mexican border could be sealed off
all 1,891 miles of it
for $3.3 billion dollars.

Iraq spending equivalent: 13.8 days.

Cost/benefit analysis, anyone?

Answer 9

Impact? Illegal immigration, over time. That is based on my belief that the Iraq war will end in time, but illegal immigration is a tougher nut to crack. Particularly when politicians would rather not crack it.

Answer 10

The War is More expensive... hands down..