By Lisa Mascaro | Los Angeles Time
A conservative think tank said Monday that immigration reform would be costly to taxpayers — the latest in a growing, but contradictory, body of research on the costs and benefits of providing a path to citizenship for those living in this country without legal status.
The Heritage Foundation study swiftly became ammunition for Republicans who are arguing against the sweeping immigration reform measure proposed by a bipartisan group of senators.
Heritage said the immigrants would become a drain on taxpayers because they would receive $6.3 trillion more in government benefits over their lifetimes than they would pay in taxes. Many American citizens, including those born in the United States, already pose a similar drain on the government, the authors said, because of low income levels. They argued against adding immigrants to the mix.
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