A new study by the American Action Forum estimates that deporting every illegal immigrant, and keeping new ones from entering the country would take 20 years and cost taxpayers between $420 billion and $619 billion total. Averaging those lower and upper estimates, deporting every illegal immigrant and enforcing current immigration laws would cost about $26 billion annually.
For comparison, the Department of State had a budget of $27 billion in 2014. NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency and welfare for needy families (TANF) all receive less than $20 billion in the federal budget. Food stamps cost almost three times more than what complete deportation and enforcement would cost, while the Department of Veterans Affairs budget is almost six times higher.
