A ground-breaking new study has shown that illegal immigrants cost the U.S. taxpayer approximately $6,500 per year by soaking up welfare cash and other government benefits after they break the law to enter the country.

The study, commissioned by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), showed that that small states are particularly burdened by the illegals, and the money and services are going to aliens instead of veterans, children, and the disabled.

FAIR surveyed ten small states and determined that illegal immigration cost them an average of $454 million per year.

“To put that figure into context, that $454 million expenditure is more than 200 times what the state of Montana budgets for its entire Veterans Affairs program, and it is 2.5 times the total sum that West Virginia invests in its state university,” the report states.

Dan Stein, president of FAIR, notes that the native populations of these small states are getting squeezed the most by the burden caused by illegal immigrants. These individuals are essentially being replaced as a once-great nation transforms into a globalist economic zone.

“In many ways, the influx of immigrants into less populous areas of the country has an even greater impact on long-time residents than it does in larger and more urban areas,” Stein said.

“These areas have neither the tax base, nor the economic and social infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the growing numbers of immigrants taking up residence,” he added.

The FAIR study, Small Migrant Populations, Huge Impacts, analyzed Alaska, West Virginia, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Montana, Mississippi, North Dakota and Maine to discover their startling conclusions regarding the costs of illegal immigration.

“Many local officials tout immigration, including illegal immigration, as a remedy to economic stagnation. However, as this report reveals, the reality is precisely the opposite,” Stein said.

“Illegal immigration, in particular, drives down wages and inhibits job opportunities for legal residents, while bringing more low-skilled, low-wage workers to these states. In turn, this increases costs to state and local governments, and discourages investment by businesses seeking a skilled labor force and lower overhead,” he added.

FAIR released the following video to accompany their newly released study:

“This report highlights the fact that the adverse effects of unchecked mass immigration, combined with an immigration selection process that does not choose people based on individual merit, job skills and education, are now being felt in all parts of the country,” Stein explained.

“Americans, in every part of the nation, are being affected by antiquated and unenforced immigration policies, which is why it is at the top of the list of voter concerns heading into the 2020 elections,” he added.