The hidden impact of the immigration crisis: crimes committed by illegal immigrants cost the United States $166.5 billion

Just a few months away from the beginning of the second Donald Trump administration, the president-elect continues to hatch his strategy to combat the border crisis. As for the concrete impact of the border situation for the country and cities and towns across the country, a recent analysis by RealClearInvestigations (RCI) set out to delve into the crime rate of illegal immigrants and the cost of crimes committed.

Since the start of their tenure, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have seen border crossings soar to record numbers. Since Jan. 20, 2021, according to the House Homeland Security Committee, it is estimated that more than 10.3 million "inadmissible aliens" entered the country, a 200% increase compared to the Trump administration.

"The evidence makes one fact inescapably clear—this crisis was intentional from the very start, and all its disastrous impacts preventable and unnecessary. As the 118th Congress draws to a close, it is essential that the American people have the whole story on how this crisis began, and how the Biden-Harris administration has allowed it to rage on to this day. (...) They have opened our borders, tied the hands of DHS law enforcement, and left our communities to deal with the consequences," Committee Chairman Mark E. Green (R-TN) said.

The cost of the border crisis

To conduct such an analysis, the RCI relied on data obtained by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which suggests that crimes committed by illegal immigrants who entered the United States before July 21, 2024 cost the country an estimated $166.5 billion dollars.

The figure breaks down as follows: medical care/ambulances, mental health care, police/fire service costs, social/victim services, property loss/damage, reduced productivity (at work, home, and school), and non-monetary losses (fear, pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life).

The report suggests that there is no accuracy in the numbers due to "poor data collection by federal and 'sanctuary' jurisdictions." Because of this, they note that "the crime rate for non-citizens is vastly underestimated."

With the end of the 'Remain in Mexico' policy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot take the time to properly review a background check on each person held, so they are released on their own recognizance, in many cases to discover that they had a record in their home countries.

"In response to a request from Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, ICE reported this summer that it has released 7.4 million such “non-detained” non-citizens into the U.S. during the last four decades or so. ICE reports that these include 662,566 non-citizens with criminal histories - 435,719 individuals with criminal convictions in their home countries and another 226,847 with pending criminal charges. These precise figures, however, do not say whether the crimes of the latter group were committed in the accused’s home country or the U.S.," added the RCI.

However, these figures only take into account the most serious crime committed by each of these individuals. For example, if one of them committed both a sex crime and a murder, only the murder is counted.

The "fugitives" issue

Within the group of individuals who illegally cross the border, there is a group that was observed crossing illegally but was not apprehended or returned: "The fugitives."

"With up to 38% of border agents shifted from monitoring to processing duties and 30% of surveillance cameras not functioning, millions more likely entered the U.S. undetected, potentially including the most dangerous individuals. The Customs and Border Protection Agency estimates that some two million such “gotaways” have entered the country since 2021," explained RCI.

This situation is exacerbated by the low arrest rate among those who commit crimes. For example, according to the Center for Crime Prevention Research (CPRC), only 35.2% of violent crimes in cities and occurred in 2022 ended in arrest.

In turn, 50.6% of murders ended with the offender arrested, 24.1% in case of rape, 22.7% in case of robbery and 39.9% in case of aggravated assaults.