Yankee Institute stands by its assertion that Connecticut has spent at least $1.3 billion on services for illegal immigrations, a statement made by President Carol Platt Liebau during last Sunday’s edition of “This Week in Connecticut.” Governor Ned Lamont disputed the claim on February 20.
Liebau was citing a 2023 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which found Connecticut has an estimated 167,000 illegal migrants — or 225,000 including children — living in the state, who receive services ranging from medical care, in-state tuition, incarceration, and welfare.
“We welcome the opportunity to discuss with the Governor other ways to save taxpayer dollars,” Liebau said. “After all, $1.3 billion is a significant sum, and as he knows, some families who are here legally and some of our state’s businesses are struggling, and could certainly benefit from those resources.”
“Some are proposing to bust the bipartisan 2017 fiscal guardrails, which have helped pay down our state’s massive pension debt, improved our creditworthiness, and even laid the groundwork for the governor to enact the largest income tax cut in Connecticut history,” Liebau added. “Rather than breaking a promise lawmakers made to our residents just two years ago when they unanimously voted to extend the guardrails, Yankee Institute believes we should re-examine how the state government spends the money it currently has.”
Yankee Institute has also provided a menu of other reforms that would provide cost savings, freeing up funds without breaking the fiscal guardrails:
- State employees have received a 33% pay increase through step and annual raises over the past six years. If wages are frozen, Connecticut could save $360 million over the next two years.
- State employees pay only 2% of their medical bills, while the national average is 14%. This should be reconsidered.
- The state could also re-examine its film tax credit, which the left-leaning CT Voices for Children and Yankee Institute both see as an area to improve. In Fiscal Year 2023, Connecticut gave $112 million in tax credits.
