Idaho is seeing a growth in illegal immigration that has surged as much as a 30 percent increase in recent years. While the state still has policies which make it difficult to be an undocumented worker in the state, the cost of this influx of illegal immigrants is growing.
According to the Pew Research Center, Idaho is one of a few states seeing growth in illegal immigrant populations. Between 2009 and 2012, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia joined Idaho as the states that saw statistically significant growth in illegal immigration.
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Idaho has an estimated unauthorized immigrant population of between 30,000 and 50,000. This number is considerably lower than neighboring states to the west, but astronomically higher than states to the east, which have populations of illegal immigrants estimated to be fewer than 5,000.
The percentage of total population of Idaho believed to be undocumented is about 3 percent.
Illegal immigrants make up about 5.5 percent of the population of school children,
according to Pew. These 4,000 children are mostly Spanish speakers at home.
Idaho is strict on legal immigrants as well. The state keeps welfare dollars only for citizens.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, Idaho does not provide Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Medicaid to legal permanent residents.
Some groups are concerned about the growing cost of illegal immigration in Idaho. The
Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform estimates the cost of undocumented immigrants to be about $187 million. FAIR points to the cost of water usage, traffic on the roadways, other strains on state resources as the source of these costs. FAIR also claims that Idaho’s immigrant populations are more likely to be living in poverty than other populations.
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