You could be right. From here: "$250 billion United States illegal immigrant cost reported circa 2018." https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/cost-of-illegal-immigration-by-state But lots of folks, even the libertarian Cato Institute, objected to their figures and methods. >Federation for American Immigration Reform, a conservative research organization that advocates for less immigration, both legal and illegal. The group's report, published in 2017, estimated the cost was **$135 billion a year**. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/fact-check/2018/06/26/paul-gosar-how-much-do-undocumented-immigrants-cost-economy/691997002/ But an important variable to the equation is the tax revenue generating figures of the citizen children from those illegals: >A National Academies of Sciences report published in September 2016 found that while immigrants — especially ones with lower education levels like most undocumented immigrants — are probably a net fiscal drain, the children of all immigrants are among the highest economic contributors and taxpayers in the country. They bring the figure down to fewer than $20 billion. BUT....the illegals earn money. We just are not able to tax it because it is "dark money."