Jessica Vaughan, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said policies adopted by sanctuary states can attract illegal immigration and place financial burdens on taxpayers through expanded access to public assistance programs.

Vaughan discussed how certain state policies provide benefits to individuals living in the country illegally, arguing that these programs increase government spending and encourage illegal settlement in those states.

“Sanctuary states typically have other policies that attract illegal settlement and thus burden taxpayers with support of illegal immigrants,” Vaughan said.

She said that beyond providing emergency medical care and public education, some sanctuary states extend additional benefits funded by taxpayers.

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“Besides funding emergency health care and schooling for all, a number of sanctuary states go farther and choose to provide Medicaid, subsidized health insurance, nutrition assistance, housing and much more,” Vaughan said.

According to Vaughan, those programs are used frequently by households headed by individuals living in the country illegally.

“Illegal immigrants use these welfare programs in large numbers,” Vaughan said.

Vaughan cited research conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies examining the use of public assistance among such households.

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“My organization has found that over 60% of illegal alien headed households are using at least one form of welfare program, and usually more than one, at a cost of 10s of billions of dollars to taxpayers,” Vaughan said.

She argued that the financial impact of those programs extends across multiple areas of government spending, including healthcare, housing, and food assistance.

Vaughan said the scale of the spending highlights what she believes is the fiscal effect of sanctuary policies that provide expanded services.

She said increased enforcement efforts can reduce long-term costs by limiting the number of individuals who rely on government-funded services.

“This is why any resources spent on immigration enforcement actually save taxpayers money in the long run,” Vaughan said.

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Vaughan’s comments focused on the connection between immigration enforcement and government spending, arguing that policies addressing illegal immigration can affect public expenditures tied to welfare programs and social services.

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