The cost to taxpayers is $166,716 per illegal alien.
Posted by Speaker Mike Johnson, Checked
- Sources
- 1 contradict4 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 55%
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnsonOct 26, 2026The White House Council of Economic Advisers did publish an estimate of $166,716 as the average lifetime net fiscal cost per illegal alien, so the figure exists as a CEA estimate on 2026-10-26.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What we found
Contradicts. Cato Institute says the CEA estimate is not credible because illegal immigrants are net taxpayers who paid more in taxes than they received in benefits, and it calls the figure 'imaginary.'[5]
Contradicts. CBO found that recent illegal immigrants and asylum seekers will reduce deficits by about $900 billion from 2024 to 2034, which runs opposite to a net per-person taxpayer cost.[5]
Supports. The White House release and Fox News report that the CEA estimates the lifetime cost of an illegal alien at $166,716, or $1.4 to $1.9 trillion in total, which matches the claimed figure as a CEA estimate.[4][6][7][8]
Context. PolitiFact notes that the widely cited lifetime estimates vary (for example, $68,000 from CIS) and that other analyses show positive economic effects from immigrants in the U.S. illegally, so the figure depends heavily on the estimating model and assumptions.[1]
Context. FactCheck.org and AP have long documented that published estimates of illegal immigrant costs vary widely and that no consensus exists, so a single per-person figure is not a settled measure.[2][3]
Sources
8 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 not rated, 3 rated low
- 1Fact-checking Trump at Florida's Alligator Alcatraz about ... - PolitiFactpolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Cost of Illegal Immigrants - FactCheck.orgfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Trump wrong about illegal immigration costsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 4Bombshell Report Exposes True Cost of Radical ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5The White House Council of Economic Advisers' Imaginary Cost of Illegal Immigrantscato.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6White House report puts illegal immigrant lifetime cost at ...foxnews.com · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited for: supports
- 7Democrats' open-border agenda has a $613 billion price tagwashingtontimes.com · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited for: supports
- 8White House Report: DSA Immigration Policies Could Cost Taxpayers Up to $613 Billion Over Decadeth.headtopics.com · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post