Texas conducted the first detailed look by a state at the impact that undocumented immigrants have on its budget. While many Texans claim that undocumented immigrants steal their jobs, the study shows that almost $18 billion would’ve been lost from the Texan economy last year if all “illegal immigrants” had been deported. That loss would’ve been the widest-ranging of all goods and services produced in Texas, at 2.1 percent.

Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn said, “Undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues, which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received. However, local governments bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs not paid for by the state.” The report additionally stated that the net increase to state revenues came from payments such as sales taxes and user fees.

The report says removing illegal migrants from the state would lead to a tighter labor market and higher wages.

“Without the undocumented immigrant population, Texas’ workforce would decrease by 6.3 percent. … The most significant impact would be a noticeable tightening in labor markets,” the report says.

“This tightening would induce increases in wages. … While pay increases can be viewed as a positive social and economic development, when they rise due to labor shortages they affect economic competitiveness. In this case, it would be expressed as a modest decline in the value of Texas’ exports,” it adds.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that there were 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in 2005, with between 1.4 million and 1.6 million of them living in Texas.

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