Migrant crisis cost $150bn in 2023, with crisis zones having to cut police, fire and services to cover costs: report

The eye-watering financial cost of the migrant crisis hit $150 billion last year and is causing devastating consequences for residents of hard-hit cities struggling to cope with the influx, The Post has learned.Of that figure, calculated by Washington DC-based non-profit Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), $67 billion came from the federal government, but the majority of the burden was shouldered by states and local governments.That has left huge holes in city budgets, meaning cutbacks for regular US citizens, including:FAIR estimates there were at least 15.5 million “illegal alien residents” in the country at the beginning of 2022, with federal funding amounting to $3,187 per migrant per year, an increase of 45% since their last survey in 2017.Of the federal government’s $67 billion spent in 2023, more than $6.6 billion was earmarked for education and over $25 billion was doled out in medical costs.Federal welfare programs ate up $11.5 billion and law enforcement costs were $23.1 billion, according to the 91-page “The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on United States Taxpayers 2023” report from FAIR.They point out that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to migrant spending as state and local expenditure is far higher.But because each state, city and county approaches migrant relief differently it is hard to estimate the full cost per migrant.

However, the struggles certain communities face help show how much havoc the crisis is wreaking on ordinary citizens.In New York City more than 210,000 migrants have traveled to the city since the spring of 2022.As The Post has reported, under the sanctuary city’s “right to shelter” policy 150 hotels are currently providing food and rooms for the migrants, who receive between 30 and 60 days of free housing with laundry facilities and help with childcare.The overall costs to house asylum seekers per night is $352 and spending for 2023 and 2024 is set to surpass a staggering $2.3 bi...