First off.. unless you’re a Native American.. all our ancestors migrated to this country.  

How has that turned out?  Pretty good as the US is the largest economy on the planet.

The current influx of migrants are not eligible for subsidies.. so now we’re down to arguing about ER visits.. whatever..

19% of the workforce is foreign born.. about a third are undocumented.  Trump has taken away some protections.. primarily for refugees and asylum seekers from TPS temporary status.. from hell holes like Haiti, Venezuela and the like.. kudos to the Noble peace prize winner from Venezuela whom probably did defeat Madura at the ballot box last year.. if we could clean that out.. restore democracy.. some of these people could go home.  Kamala was supposed to fix this.. crickets.

Again I am a life long Republican.. a social conservative who believes in the sanctity of life from conception till the end.  The same rights for the migrant as the unborn.  So there’s that.  No I have not changed.

A significant amount of migrants own homes here.. outmigration of Anglos have left disrepaired properties which migrants have.. bought.. moved in.. cleaned up.. pay property taxes on.

To better inform the ongoing debates on immigration policy reform, this report provides state-by-state and national estimates on the current state and local tax contributions of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States as of 2014, and the increase in contributions if all these taxpayers were granted legal status as part of comprehensive reform. [1]

Key Findings:

• Undocumented immigrants contribute significantly to state and local taxes, collectively paying an estimated $11.74 billion a year.[2] Contributions range from just over $550,000 in Montana with an estimated undocumented population of 1,000 to more than $3.1 billion in California, home to more than 3 million undocumented immigrants.
• Undocumented immigrants nationwide pay on average an estimated 8 percent of their incomes in state and local taxes (this is their effective state and local tax rate). To put this in perspective, the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay an average nationwide effective tax rate of just 5.4 percent.[3]
• Granting legal status to all undocumented immigrants in the United States as part of a comprehensive immigration reform and allowing them to work legally would increase their state and local tax contributions by an estimated $2.18 billion a year. Their nationwide effective state and local tax rate would increase to 8.6 percent.

This must be true since JD Vance said migrants are driving up home costs. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jd-vance-debate-immigration-housing-prices-real-estate-federal-reserve/

Specifically, Vance pointed to "a Federal Reserve study that we're happy to share after the debate," which he claimed "really drills down on the connection between increased levels of migration, especially illegal immigration and higher housing prices."

On Wednesday, Vance posted some studies and speeches on social media to back up his claim, although the Federal Reserve "study" is, in fact, a short prepared speech by a Fed official who had pointed out that the "inflow of new immigrants to some geographic areas could result in upward pressure on rents."

A problem from sea to shining sea

While that's far from a rigorous analysis linking immigration to higher home prices, many economists who have studied the real estate market say the factors driving up home prices are structural, such a construction downturn following the 2007-09 Great Recession that's led to a severe housing shortage.

so In some places.. where migrants can afford the lower end of housing in rural areas this is indeed true.. like my area.

 Furthermore..

https://www.marketplace.org/story/2017/09/11/american-dream-how-undocumented-immigrants-buy-homes-us

The longer undocumented immigrants live in the U.S., the more likely they are to own a home, according to Pew Hispanic Center. Back in 2008, 27 percent of undocumented immigrants who lived in the U.S. less than 10 years owned a home. That’s compared to 45 percent of undocumented immigrants who lived in the U.S. 10 years or longer who owned a home.

Pew Hispanic Center

Undocumented immigrants pay as much as $3.6 billion in property taxes each year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy which analyzed MPI’s undocumented home ownership data. The data helps dispel the myth that undocumented immigrants aren’t paying taxes, said Meg Wiehe, co-author of the report and a deputy director at ITEP. Even as some might remain skeptical over whether undocumented immigrants pay income tax, there is proof that they pay property taxes when they purchase a home.

“It can make a really good case that undocumented immigrants are not only contributing to our communities and our economies but also to our state budget and are supporting our state funding priorities through tax revenue,” Wiehe said.

Consequently, deportations of homeowners might have real impact on their communities.

therefore, migrants own homes and pay property taxes.. offering a pathway to citizenship could help spread the burden of taxes across a WORKING SEGMENT of our population already here vs the dead beat gamers.. whom I guess are suppose to take the migrants jobs.. like that will ever happen.. color me skeptical.

https://cis.org/Report/WorkingAge-Not-Working-1960-2024

The share of U.S.-born men not in the labor force — neither working nor looking for work — has increased dramatically since the 1960s, particularly for those without a bachelor’s degree. Because they are not actively looking for work, they are not counted as unemployed. While the share out of the labor force in 2024 has roughly returned to pre-pandemic levels, it remains extremely high by historical standards. This is relevant to the immigration debate because one of the arguments for allowing in so many legal immigrants, or even tolerating illegal immigration, is that there are not enough workers. But this ignores the enormous increase in the number of working-age people not in the labor force. Further, being out of the labor force is associated with profound social problems such as crime, overdose deaths, and welfare dependency. Policy-makers should consider encouraging work among 

So here we are..  I don’t see so called “gamers” getting off their back sides to take the jobs of migrants.. picking crops in the fields.. doing cleaning in the motel/hotel sector.. elder care, construction, etc.. If the Republicans wanted to beat up ER visits.. go pick on the deadbeat US citizens.. many who ACTUALLY ARE ON WELFARE.. but that doesn’t fit the narrative does it?

Here’s a good data source of migrant numbers.. 14 million undocumented in the workforce.. 

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/21/key-findings-about-us-immigrants/

so it’s a tough issue to tackle.. from my perspective.. how do we keep the economy growing.. while handling the deficits.. while tackling the issues we face.

This data hasn’t shown up yet.. well it has so Trump fired the statistician.. but expect further employment declines.. if we continue down this economic disastrous road.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/1-2-million-immigrants-are-gone-from-the-u-s-workforce-under-trump-preliminary-data-shows


So.. No.. Migrants are not eligible for welfare.. nor do they take more than they provide.. which is what I responded to.

there ya go.. off to harvest.

PS I’m just as frustrated as this Republican pollster..

Arrggghh.

 https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5545377-trump-approval-rating-decline/

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