According to a study from New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, illegal immigration costs the state $7.3 billion per year.
Citing numbers from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Kanitra said there are 892,000 illegal immigrants in the state and that each costs $1,600 and per household costs $2,100 in housing, legal, education, and other costs.
Between 7.5% and 8.13% of New Jerseyans live in the state illegally, said Kanitra, adding that he learned much when he visited the southern border.
"The crisis at the southern border is a true crisis," said Kanitra, who represents Ocean and Monmouth counties. "It is a crisis in security, a crisis in humanitarian treatment, and a crisis in equal protection of the law. All necessary powers to solve this crisis have already been given to the President of the United States. We could be experiencing a trickle in illegal crossing, but instead we have a tsunami, due to the Biden administration's failure to faithfully execute the laws of this Union."
Kanitra said New Jersey should require drivers licenses and non-driver identifications to have a mark of U.S. citizenship or legal status enhancement before being issued and that education subsidies for illegal immigrants should end.
Students should be required to show proof of legal status or U.S. citizenship, Kanitra said. Kanitra wants the state to sue to get a 1982 Supreme Court decision overturned that required education for all residences, even if they weren't here legally.
"Every school district shall be required to obtain data on those planning to attend their school for identification that would: show present citizenship or show present legal status," Kanitra said.
Kanitra said hospitals and healthcare facilities should be required to collect data on the legal status of people receiving a service, with the data sent to the state monthly.
He also called for the ending of programs that support illegal immigration and said anyone requiring state assistance should be mandated to include their immigration status, under the threat of perjury.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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