The Truth About Undocumented Immigrants The University Leadership Initiative updated the facts about undocumented immigrants. We would like to share some of the facts we gathered. If you would like the entire fact sheet, please feel free to contact us via email at ourdream2005@gmail.com ; we would gladly share it. Economic Impact of Undocumented Immigrants Immigration increases the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by roughly $37 billion each year because immigrants increase the size of the total labor force, complement the native-born workforce in terms of skills and education, and stimulate capital investment by adding workers to the labor pool. (White House Council of Economic Advisers, Immigration's Economic Impact, June 2007). The Health care System and Undocumented Immigrants Workers without valid social security numbers contribute $8.5 billion annually to Social Security and Medicare. Such workers, most of them immigrants, usually receive no eligibility credits for their contributions. (American Journal of Public Health, August 2005, Vol. 95, No. 8) Undocumented Immigrants' Effect on Social Security Undocumented workers are providing the Social Security system with a subsidy of up to $7 billion per year and about $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes. ("Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With Billions," New York Times, April 5, 2005) National Security and the Undocumented An enforcement-only approach would shrink the overall economy, reduce opportunities for higher-skilled American workers and result in economic losses of roughly $80 billion over ten years. (Dixon, P.B. & Rimmer, M. T. August 2009. Restriction or Legalization? Measuring the Economic Benefit of Immigration Reform). The Visa Process Currently in 2006, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is in the beginning stages of processing visa and permanent resident application requests from 1999. (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) Deportation and Detention Effects Detention and deportation waste taxpayer money. Non-violent immigrant detainees are the fastest growing portion of the U.S. prison population. In 2003, the federal government will spend approximately $743 million locking up immigrants. (The President's Fiscal 2003 Immigration Budget, February 4, 2002)