Montana spends millions on illegal immigrants, new study finds

Montana spends millions on illegal immigrants, new study finds

Wendy Sefsaf, communications director for the Immigration Policy Center (IPC), said the FAIR report only examines one side of the issue.
“What they never do is contrast it with contributions,” Sefsaf said of the FAIR analysis. “They always look at fiscal costs and we try to bring in benefits to balance it out.”
A fact sheet released by the IPC, a non-partisan research and policy center also headquartered in Washington, D.C. says illegal immigrants provide millions of dollars in productivity for the Montana economy.
“If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Montana, the state would lose $96.3 million in economic activity, $42.8 million in gross state product, and approximately 720 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group,” the fact sheet states.
Martin said while spending is estimated to be lowest in Montana, there is statistically no significant difference among spending by the states with the lowest number of illegal immigrants. Montana is one of seven states that have an estimated illegal immigration population of 5,000 or less. The others are Maine, Nebraska, Vermont, Wyoming, and both Dakotas.