re: Why are immigrants sneaking past the Mexican border bad from an economics standpoint?

You seem to fail to understand the economic drain they present.

- First they consume more than they put into the systems. Estimates say that 60% of illegals get some type of government entitlement (funny word for a non-citizen).
- Second those entitlements are estimated to be ~$75B to ~$100B annually.
- Thirdly, they strain other systems such as needing ESL instructors in schools and expand class sizes.
- Fourth, they send a vast majority of their earning back to their home countries. It is estimated that renumerations are the the #3 largest contributor to Mexico’s GDP. Funny how the government adds 87K IRS agents to crack down on citizens but won’t crack down on this.

So as you see they are not adding to the economy. They are actually taking from the economy. Now if you want to fix this create a system for work VISAs, tax renumerations and ensure that there is just one pathway to citizenship that doesn’t include illegally coming to the United States.