Healthcare for Immigrants Costing Millions

(ConservativeSense.com) – Despite more than 30 million Americans being uninsured, the Department of Homeland Security is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on healthcare for illegal immigrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has released a report revealing that taxpayer-funded healthcare for detained illegal migrants cost $324 million in 2022.

The report says that throughout last year ICE provided “direct care – including medical and dental health services – to over 118,000 noncitizens housed at 19 IHSC-operated facilities throughout the United States, which exceeded 1.1 million visits over the course of the fiscal year.”

The figure is $8 million higher than in 2021.

In a separate report released in July last year, it was claimed that around half of US adults have difficulty keeping up with health care costs and delay accessing care as a result. It also said that a quarter of Americans have either not filled a prescription, have cut pills in half, or have skipped doses of medication because of cost pressures. Debt caused by healthcare affects 41% of US adults and 44% said they worry if they can meet their premium payments every month.

It is unknown exactly how many illegal immigrants are living in the United States, but some estimates place the figure at around 11 million. The number of immigrants overall rose to approximately 48 million in 2022. The Center for Immigration Studies said in October last year that the foreign-born population has increased by 2.9 million under the Biden administration. According to the report, “The 47.9 million foreign-born residents (legal and illegal) in September 2022 is the largest number ever recorded in any US government survey or census.”

Last year also saw record numbers detained at the southern border and there is little sign that this will ease off in 2023. Some border state leaders say the Biden administration has done nothing to address the issue.

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