But illegal immigrants may use more in state and local government services, which usually cannot deny help, the policy analysis said.
"Consequently, while the federal government receives a net benefit from undocumented immigrants, state and local governments realize a net loss with undocumented immigrants paying less in state and local taxes than the cost to provide services to that population," the report says.
The bill, as well as another in the House Ways and Means Committee dealing with whether in-state tuition should be granted to illegal immigrants, spurred some of the most passionate testimony of this year's General Assembly session.
Susan Payne, a Montgomery County resident, said she believes an influx of illegal immigrants in her community had led to more crime and what she termed "impromptu boarding houses," where she said 17 or 18 people lived and parked their cars.
"We've seen the effects, not just in dollars and cents, but we've seen it in the deterioration of our communities," she said. "And I don't think it's because we've all of a sudden gotten an influx of the Amish."
Advocates who testified said the bill could adversely affect U.S. citizens who qualify for benefits but who are not be able to prove they are living here legally. In one hypothetical example, Kerry O'Brien, an attorney for Casa of Maryland, the state's largest Latino and immigrant-rights group, said an elderly woman who might not have a license because she has stopped driving might be denied benefits under the bill, or at least that the legislation could create insurmountable barriers for some people who legally qualify for state help.
"This bill creates unnecessary burdens on a wide variety of Maryland agencies, when most benefits and services are already either explicitly restricted or required by federal law or U.S. Supreme Court decisions," she said.
bradley.olson@baltsun.com
