By Theresa Opeka
Carolina Journal
- Illegal immigration costs North Carolina taxpayers $3.14 billion or $779 per household annually.
This week the United States Senate is preparing to hear the House’s case for impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. On February 13, the Republican-led United States House of Representatives voted to impeach Mayorkas for “high crimes and misdemeanors” due to repeated failures to secure the nation’s southern border. Those failures are contributing to a growing illegal immigrant population in North Carolina.
This is only the second impeachment of a cabinet member in US history.
The Senate is returning from a two-week break and could hear the impeachment charges read on the chamber floor as early as Tuesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, appointed the House members who are prosecutors in their case and has not yet announced the schedule.
“At every turn, Secretary Mayorkas has ignored statutes and undermined the rule of law. He has released illegal aliens into the U.S. instead of detaining and removing them,” said the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in a press release praising the House’s action. “He has established permanent parole programs for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals, violating the law that requires parole be granted temporarily and only on a case-by-case basis. He has allowed known terrorists and Special Interest Aliens to cross into the country unimpeded.”
FAIR studies the impact of illegal immigration on the United States and reports a costly impact from millions of illegal immigrants coming into the country since President Joe Biden took office. Mayorkas has admitted that 85% of the migrants being encountered at the southern border are being released into the country.
FAIR’s June 2023 estimate shows that, currently, 16.8 million illegal immigrants live in the US. The 2023 cost study shows that 488,000 live in the Tar Heel State, along with their 169,000 US-born children.
Most come from Mexico, followed by Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and India, according to Migrationpolicy.org.
The costs to support them are staggering. According to FAIR, in 2023, illegal immigration costs North Carolina taxpayers $3.14 billion or $779 per household annually, according to the Census Bureau’s number of households. Also:
- Illegal immigrant households added 122,218 students to local schools.
- The average cost to North Carolinians is $4,781 per illegal alien.
- Taxpayers are supporting education costs of $1.47 billion, police, legal, and corrections costs of $461.1 million, as well as healthcare, public assistance, and general government services expenses.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) annual report, nearly half of the 170,590 illegal immigrants arrested in the US in 2023 had multiple criminal charges and convictions.
While enforcement arrests nearly doubled, including dozens of known or suspected terrorists, untold numbers of illegal immigrants are deemed “gotaways” who disappear into the nation’s interior.
Nationwide, the criminal aliens averaged four charges and convictions each, including over 33,200 charges or convictions for assault, 7,520 for weapons offenses, over 1,700 for homicide-related crimes, and over 1,600 for kidnapping. Removals also included 3,406 known or suspected gang members, 139 known or suspected terrorists, seven human rights violators, and 108 foreign fugitives wanted by their countries for crimes including homicide, rape, terrorism, and kidnapping.
When it comes to safety, North Carolinians are also paying the price, both financially and some, with their lives.
DRUG TRAFFICKING IN NORTH CAROLINA
The state has seen a surge in all types of crimes, but those with the most notoriety are human/sex trafficking and illegal drugs, most notably fentanyl.
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, who is also running for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in the March 5 primary, was elected president of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association in 2010. Since then, he has made several trips to the Arizona and Mexico border, working with the Federation for American Immigration Reform and Center for Immigration Study. There he saw firsthand how the drug trafficking routes work.
He told Carolina Journal that drug overdoses, especially from fentanyl, have seen an uptick in the past five years and that the drugs are coming from the Mexican drug cartels, with members being arrested just north of his county and in Charlotte a few years ago.
“We need to get a handle on our border and to start focusing on the cartels and try to dismantle their operations like we did in Colombia back in the 80s and 90s,” he told CJ. “These guys are going to continue to be strong, and if they can’t move drugs, they move people. “They’re involved in human trafficking, drug smuggling, and human smuggling.”
In 2023, more than 100,000 people died from fentanyl overdoses in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Over the past nine years, more than 13,000 North Carolinians have died from overdosing on the drug.
So far, in January 2024, there have been 332 fentanyl deaths in the state, a slight drop from 368 deaths in January 2023.
Recently, Operation Thunder on the Hill in Nash County, North Carolina, resulted in three arrests and seizure of 419 fentanyl pills, 68 grams of crack cocaine, and 490 grams of powder cocaine. The haul was likely headed to campuses and communities across the state. Investigators tracked this drug trafficking ring along I-95 in Rocky Mount for nearly two years.
In December, 14 members of a drug organization with ties to the Mexican cartels, Sinaloa and CJNG, were sentenced to years in prison. They trafficked 328 kilograms of cocaine, 26 kilograms of fentanyl, and a kilogram of heroin in the Charlotte area between 2017 and 2022. The illegal alien gang members were also charged with illegally possessing 60 firearms.
500 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED FROM JAILS
According to ICE data obtained by Charlotte’s WBTV news, in 2019 nearly 500 illegal immigrants were released from jails across the state despite administrative detainers filed against them by ICE. They were initially charged with sex offenses, kidnapping, arson, and homicide.
ICE often uses a detainer to keep undocumented immigrants in jail because removal from the country is a civil action and not a criminal matter.
ICE has repeatedly asked local jurisdictions to reconsider non-cooperation policies enacted in recent years because “those policies put politics before public safety and release criminals back into communities where they are free to reoffend,” including six of twelve criminal illegal immigrants arrested by ICE in September 2020, who had active ICE detainers.
House Bill 10, Require Sheriffs to Cooperate with ICE, which Page supported, would have required sheriffs to contact ICE if they cannot confirm the citizenship status of someone in their custody accused of serious felonies and violent crimes. Although it passed in the House in March, it ended in the Senate Rules Committee.
“This unprecedented surge in illegal immigration isn’t an accident,” Eric Ruark, director of research for Numbers USA, a nonprofit that advocates for immigration restrictions, told Fox News. “It is the result of deliberate policy choices by the Biden administration.”
Now, with falling poll numbers for his re-election and failed policies, Biden is looking at taking executive action to restrict the ability of illegals to claim asylum.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?
“I’ll be honest with you, I think we’re in a worse situation than we were on 9/11,” Page told CJ.
He said people from about 150 countries are coming into the US and are not being properly vetted, especially those on the Terrorist Watchlist, thanks in part to Title 42 ending last May.
“As a sheriff, I communicate with sheriffs across the country and across the state, and it’s not if we’re going to get hit,” he stated. “We’re going to get hit. It’s just when.”
Theresa Opeka is the Executive Branch reporter for the Carolina Journal.
Research reviewed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicates that between 50 percent and 75 percent of unauthorized immigrants pay federal, state, and local taxes.
Unauthorized immigrants are estimated to pay in about $7 billion per year into Social Security. In addition, they spend millions of dollars per year, which supports the US economy and helps to create new jobs.
As a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) points out, “the best evidence suggests that at least 50 percent of undocumented immigrant households currently file income tax returns using Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs), and many who do not file income tax returns still have taxes deducted from their paychecks.” The end result is that undocumented immigrants are paying billions of dollars each year in taxes.
The END RESULT is they are ILLEGALLY here.
Exactly do it the legal way. Not just jump the fence and then we the tax payer is pumping out 451 Billion to the illegals.
You are miss informed. Many Hispanic workers clam maximum dependence’s so their taxes are lower. The immigrants that are attempting to become legal Americans they file taxes if they are here just to work, not they do not file. The females have figured out how to get on Medicare, WIC, and all other federal benefits without paying in.
Also fun fact, you can’t claim child tax credit with an itin number which is what most of these people have. It doesn’t matter how many kids you try to claim you don’t get that benefit without a ssn. Speaking from experience and also a simple google search will tell you that.
I agree completely. People need to pay attention. They do the jobs no one wants. They work the fields around here., In the heat , actually running up and down the road, carrying baskets of crops. The farmers depend on them. Trump should have sent more judges to the border to help instead of 5000 troops..
Yeah my town looks like Central America. The politicians failed us. The Democrats wanted this obviously.
It’s a shame Republicans have no desire to fix a problem they moan about constantly. It’s almost like they don’t want to fix problems because then what would there party stand for besides whining, complaining, and blaming democrats for their inability to govern.
And their all going home starting Jan 20 2025
Thank God for these people coming to America! Have you noticed the people building your highways your new houses laying fiber cable?? I have worked these people and yes they paid taxes.They are welcome at my house any day.
Prove it. Post your address and I’ll start sending folks your way.
Yep! None of it is quality work. The new roads are terrible, new houses hardly pass inspection and don’t hold up a year before there’s problems with structural and foundations.
I would like the data on government assistance please – if you don’t have a social security number you can’t even claim your kids for medicaid. The problem is undereducated people grouping every immigrant into the same category. They are not all criminals, not all drug dealers and not all here to work the system. Most are here to better their quality of life and work – they do most jobs that Americans don’t want to do for pay that Americans consider sub-standard. Only when you have gone through the immigration process, or seen how difficult it is to come to this country legally will I accept any input on the matter. This country is money hungry and full of red tape at every corner. Also, most people that judge anyone that is from another country – take the immigration test and tell me how you do (most Americans can’t pass that and it’s our own history). Every single person here, with the exception of the American Indians all come from immigrants and trust me, coming here by the boatload in a port is no different then accessing through a southern or northern border. It bothers me that people are as ignorant as they are. I know immigrants that are far superior humans than some Americans.
Sorry you do not need a social security for assistance. If their children are born in the American they have a SS number giving your parent the ability to sign up for additional services for the family.
Not true at all, even if one parent and the child have a ssn they don’t qualify. Do your research
They’re still ILLEGAL. And many don’t pay. Stop lying
What about what NY and CA is now doing. Closing schools down and kicking the students out. How about seniors being kicked out so to make room for illegals.
451 Billion dollars of tax payer monies went to or is going to illegals. Oh lets mention those 10,000 dollar CC’s going to them with no ID or questions asked. That is being done in NY.
Oh almost forgot to mention, the US Army is kicking out over 32,000 troops. Guess who is going right on in to replace that. Yup illegals to get that fast path to citizenship. So over 32,000 troops just lost their jobs just to give illegals a citizenship. How screwed up is that.
I am all for immigration LEGAL Immigration.
You’ll never see the Slavocrats or the Redumblicans do anything to fix imigration. Only Trump was willing to fix it. Just imagine if he put a $500 reward to any CITIZEN that identified and turned in illegals? It would boost the economy and open up jobs.
It is amazing the lack of knowledge by some people on here. If you are illegal, you are not paying taxes, or into social security. As far as jobs, I observed my brother who is mentally delayed but has worked all his life doing dishwasher jobs. He went to apply for a new one recently, since most places close for a few months around here due to tourism break. He was told by a local restaurant they were only hiring Mexicans. I asked him what he said when they told him that, and he said nothing but thank you. He didn’t understand why he could not get a job, because he was not Mexican. This is a sad day when you cannot find a job because your people will sell you out. The person that talked about them building houses here is correct, they are built like crap. We had bought a new house in North Carolina, that within a year, was starting to have walls cracking, with many other issues. America has gone to the dogs.
So one employer turned down your mentally delayed brother and you’re claiming that this is the standard? I’m familiar with many restaurant owners in the Clayton and Smithfield area. I’ve seen their staff and they are not all Hispanic. Maybe your brother isn’t that good at washing dishes? Maybe that owner has his own preference that, quite probably, is not shared by everyone? Perhaps this is just another “…and then everyone clapped” story? There are just too many variables in your loosely told story for it to seem credible, or even relevant to the discussion.
My favorite part is that your point is punctuated by saying that you bought a poopy house. This is the illegal’s fault as well? Following your logic, why don’t you blame them for your melting ice cream too? Research the age of the house, the developer, the materials used, and then purchase. The color of the people building the house doesn’t matter. Anybody can swing a hammer. What matters are what materials and building technique the developer (who statistically speaking, would be of the Anglo persuasion.) used for the house. Get a grip dude.
See the problem is that it’s just too easy to get free labor with illegal workers. The United States Infrastructure THRIVES off of illegal immigrant workers. Every been to a tobacco field and seen a bunch of white guys picking your strawberries? Ever seen a roofing crew without a Jose? A cleaning crew without a Maria? Ever been to a factory or processing plant and looked at the assembly line staff?
These people do the jobs that we refuse to do at a rate of pay that we would scoff at. This in turn, generates a high profit margin for business owners, which bolsters their spending power, in turn bolstering the economy and offsetting the deficit incurred by each illegal. Even each arrest is profitable in our booming and thriving penal system, but I digress.
They are forced to endure these grueling jobs at a reduced pay with no benefits or support from the government. They are often fleeced, abused, and forced to work in extremely unsafe positions with no assurance for their bodily safety or continuity of work. If they get injured, move onto the next Jose. Illegal immigrants are indispensable in a country built by slavery and free labor. They are nearly impossible not to have in a country that claims to have moved on from slavery, and indentured servitude.
I feel like many of you think that they just come over here and start living a cushy life. It is not like that. It is difficult. The immigration process is strained, confusing at times, and difficult. It’s not like people don’t want to. Sometimes they cannot, and their hand is forced.
Criminals will always be criminals. Every country has them. We need to root them out, but I wrote this in hopes to elucidate the fact that every illegal immigrant is not a criminal or deserves to be sent back. They are people. Human beings. They like Bojangles and argue whether Kelsey is a good match for Taylor Swift too. They love mustangs and ice cream. Their daughters and sons also want to go to college, just like yours. (You are planning for college for them, I hope…)
We could do so much more as a society if we didn’t view them as the enemy, but rather our own infrastructure that puts the blame on the immigrants! People immigrate into this country every day from all countries. Why can we not regulate our friends from the south properly? It’s not the people! It’s the process!
All in all lets just not forget one important fact: we all live in AMERICA. Whether it be North, or South. We are all AMERICANS. Lets act like it, dam*it. Stop allowing other people make you think you’re better than someone else just because you were lucky enough to be born here. Open up your heart, then open up your eyes, then open up your mouth.
Very nicely said from someone here seeking asylum from gangs and violence in a poverty ridden country. But I will be grouped together with the “illegals” because my main language is Spanish even though I learned English on my own. I just want to be safe and work to support my family but I come here and everyone hates me because I have a tan on my skin and assumes I “jumped the border”. Some are good to me, and I am thankful to be here.
Sometimes all I hear is Spanish being spoken around me……if you thought this would be your last day in the great Ole USA….you’d work like a dog too. If you aren’t here legally…then jump the fence and go back where you came from. I said what I said.
Since when the “Great Ol’e USA” was ever great to begin with?
Everyone wants to win an argument instead of finding solutions.
Did any of you know that we release children to anyone. Anyone. Biden did away with the rapid DNA test. Think about the thousands of children brought here for child labor /sex labor?
Do you know the majority coming across our border are military aged men? You’re all so consumed with arguing with one another, you fail to see the larger picture. This is exactly what they want. Tear down within. Why do it themselves when we can do it for them?
Sorry but if a person is here illegally, they have broken our laws and should be arrested. If people want to come to the US, we have a process that allows people to legally.
One other note, we can thank politicians like President Biden, Governor Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein for our border crisis. In my opinion, they are co-conspirators with the drug cartels and human smugglers, who have created tragedy at the Southern Border and made all State’s a border state.