A new Cato Institute study is challenging one of the most persistent claims in the immigration debate: that immigrants drain the U.S. welfare system. In a three-decade study, the libertarian think tank found that immigrants paid more in taxes than they received in government benefits every year from 1994 through 2023, generating nearly $10.6 trillion more in federal, state, and local tax revenue than they received in government spending.
When the study includes savings on interest payments on debt that did not have to be added, Cato puts the total fiscal impact at $14.5 trillion over 30 years.
