Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has signaled that funding for services for illegal immigrants is on the chopping block as the agency prepares to hack away at government spending.

The department, which is not an official part of the government, is expected to be empowered by President-elect Trump to audit and implement sweeping changes within government agencies.

DOGE called out U.S. spending on illegal immigration in an X post, saying it cost taxpayers $150.7 billion "in 2023 alone." 

DOGE pointed out that, when adjusted for inflation, U.S. spending on illegal immigration in a single year is comparable to government spending during the entirety of World War I ($334 billion) and the Apollo space program ($257 billion), and significantly more than what was spent on the Manhattan Project ($30 billion), the Panama Canal ($15.2 billion), and the Hoover Dam ($1 billion).

COLORADO REPUBLICANS SOUND OFF ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT SURGE ON CITIZENS: ‘THEIR SOULS ARE CRUSHED’

Musk also weighed in, posting on X that "the scale of spending on illegal immigration boggles the mind!"

The data referenced by DOGE is from a 2023 study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR’s latest report, published in March 2023, estimated that the net cost of illegal immigration – including federal, state and local spending – was "at least" $150.7 billion, amounting to $1,156 per taxpayer. This was up by nearly $35 billion since 2017 when it was $116 billion.

FAIR said it landed on this number by "subtracting the tax revenue paid by illegal aliens – just under $32 billion – from the gross negative economic impact of illegal immigration, $182 billion." By its estimates, the federal government spent $66 billion while state and local expenditures amounted to well over $115 billion.

The U.S. government does not appear to have any recent estimates on how much taxpayer dollars are being spent on illegal immigrants.

Jessica Baxter, a representative for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, told Fox News Digital that the office "does not have any recent work addressing the federal government’s overall cost estimate on immigration-related efforts."

‘THEY ARE FED UP’: DEM MAYOR'S OFFICE DEMANDS SOLUTION ON KEY ISSUE VOTERS SENT ‘RESOUNDING MESSAGE’

"We have a few reports that provide information on costs associated with specific border security or immigration-related efforts, such as estimates of costs for incarceration of noncitizens, but these do not provide overall estimates," she said. "The two reports I’m referring to are from 2018 and 2011, so the data is somewhat dated. Our team is currently working on an update to the 2018 report, but the work is underway, and the report isn’t expected to issue any time soon."

Julie Kirchner, FAIR’s executive director, told Fox News Digital that the $150.7 billion number is actually a "very conservative estimate" and is likely much higher now that the undocumented migrant population has continued to rise.

"The population we cited in the study was 15.5 million, we now estimate that it's over 16.8 million, and we're in the process right now of doing another estimate on the illegal alien population, and I'm sure it will be higher," she explained. "So, we know the costs are going to go up."

She also said the 2023 study did not even include state and local spending on sheltering migrants. Though DOGE’s focus is primarily on the federal government, she said state and local spending – including on education, health care and incarceration – accounts for the largest share of government spending on illegal immigrants.

BERNIE SANDERS ADMITS ‘ELON MUSK IS RIGHT’ TO SLASH PENTAGON WITH DOGE: ‘LOST TRACK OF BILLIONS’

Though exact numbers are hard to come by on the local level, America’s cities are carrying a large part of the burden. New York, the country’s biggest city by population, estimates that with nearly 100,000 asylum seekers having entered the city and "with no end in sight," it will spend more than $12 billion through fiscal year 2025. Chicago, meanwhile, has reportedly spent $400 million on migrant services in the last two years.  

"There are more and more states using state taxpayer dollars to subsidize illegal immigration," she said. "What we are seeing is state and locals are being forced to absorb all of these costs." 

She believes that once Trump retakes office, DOGE and the administration should immediately work to end government health care plans for illegals and close the loophole allowing illegal migrants to get income tax and child tax credits. By doing this, she believes DOGE can save taxpayers around the country "billions and billions of dollars each year."

"There is a lot we can do," she went on. "They are taking our own tax dollars and giving illegal aliens benefits and encouraging more illegal immigration. It is a crazy, crazy scenario where we're seeing people welcome lawlessness, and it's got to stop, and we're hopeful that the DOGE will."

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative think tank is outlining how the incoming Republican Congress can fundamentally overhaul the American immigration system, helping it rise "from the ashes" left by the Biden administration.

In a new paper, the Heritage Foundation provides a roadmap to Congress, suggesting it go beyond border security and overhaul the U.S. immigration system.

In the paper, author Lora Ries – director of the Heritage's Border Security and Immigration Center – argues that there has been a dysfunctional immigration system for decades. It made legal immigration complicated and slow, while illegal immigration was rarely punished.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY IN 2025 

"In short, it is a slow, frustrating, and expensive hassle to immigrate to the U.S. lawfully. As a result, when it is faster, easier, and cheaper to migrate to America illegally, then that is what some human beings will do – and have done for decades. Others will not come to the U.S. at all to start businesses or incubate new technologies," she says.

She argues that the Biden administration transformed the immigration system further and "erased the line between legal and illegal immigration." She accuses the administration of abusing humanitarian parole, making asylum meaningless and unleashing an open borders agenda.

"America’s immigration system used to be broken both because of a lack of enforcement and because of its overly complicated statutory provisions. Now it is a pile of ashes," she says.

BORDER STATE OFFERS TRUMP MASSIVE PLOT OF LAND TO AID MASS DEPORTATION OPERATION

But now, with a hawkish incoming Trump administration and a supportive Republican House and Senate about to be sworn in, Ries and Heritage outline five principles for how to proceed.

"However, from the ashes comes a great opportunity to redesign a new, simpler, fairer, and more manageable immigration system that prioritizes America first and legal immigrants second," she says. "The principles and policies laid out in this report can play a crucial role in shaping just such a new immigration system."

Those principles include upholding the rule of law, acknowledging that the immigration system serves the American people, ensuring the U.S. is secure, creating a system that is simple and sustainable, and eliminating incentives to break immigration laws.

As a result, under each principle comes a series of more specific recommendations for Congress to follow. In the area of legal immigration, the roadmap recommends that those who violate visa terms should have them revoked, including those supporting terrorist groups; that proof of citizenship should be required to vote; that only citizens should be counted in the census for congressional apportionment; and that the visa system must ensure that wages for Americans are not flattened.

The paper supports the abolition of the lottery system for green cards, says employers should be allowed to hire U.S. citizens over foreign nationals, and calls for assimilation as "critical for America to remain a united country." It recommends the implementation of E-Verify, and that due process in immigration be limited. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

On border security, the paper recommends that Border Patrol should have expulsion authority during national crises, and that immigration detention is necessary to protect public safety and ensure deportations, while security should be fully resourced. It also argues that the government should not "collude" with non-governmental organizations to further illegal immigration.

More broadly, the paper calls for the simplification of the Immigration and Nationality Act to make the process less complicated and the elimination of a number of waivers and exemptions. It argues that costs and data on immigration should be made available and that in times of immense backlogs, intake of new immigrants should be paused.

Finally, it says Congress should exclude illegal immigrants from benefits such as bank accounts, and that lawmakers "should oppose all forms of amnesty and should not reward illegal behavior or violation of our immigration laws."

President-elect Trump has made it clear he sees immigration and border security as top priorities for his incoming administration. He has appointed former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Tom Homan as the "border czar" and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

A number of Republican lawmakers won their elections in November by focusing on illegal immigration at the southern border and the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis.

Colorado Republicans are sounding off on "out-of-touch" Democrats after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston vowed to station police to block ICE agents from carrying out deportations and a report showed that the city has spent over $356 million in taxpayer dollars on services for migrants.  

The sum, which amounts to $7,900 per foreign national in the city and equates to 8% of the city’s total 2025 budget, was revealed by an updated analysis last week by the Common Sense Institute.

Rose Pugliese, leader of the Republican caucus in the Colorado State Assembly, told Fox News Digital that the massive influx of migrants in the state has resulted in heavier burdens on both local and state resources.

She said the Democrat-controlled legislature has spent an estimated $563 million on illegal immigrants since 2021, with $352 million of that on education spending alone.

"Without question, illegal immigration in Colorado has cost the state a significant amount of money that could have been spent supporting our constituents, roads, public safety, and other state services," she said.

CNN HOST VISIBLY STUNNED BY INCOMING BORDER CZAR SAYING HE'LL ‘JAIL’ DENVER MAYOR FOR REFUSING DEPORTATIONS

Pugliese called Mayor Johnston "out of touch on this issue," saying that the results of the 2024 election "mandated illegal immigration as a top concern throughout America."

"Removing and deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes against our citizens is a reasonable position," she said. "Unfortunately, there is no public estimate by the state regarding illegal immigrants in Colorado. This is due to policy decisions by the majority in the state legislature over the last ten years."

"Preventing an accurate accounting only aggravates the issue for local and state budgets when planning," she continued, adding that "if you don’t know the numbers, you can never be right."

DENVER MIGRANT ADVOCATES SAY SIX MONTHS OF FREE RENT, FOOD NOT ENOUGH: ‘A SLAP IN THE FACE’ AND ‘OFFENSIVE’ 

Meanwhile, Roger Hudson, a city councilman for Castle Pines, a small town just south of Denver, told Fox News Digital that "there's nothing kind, there's nothing hopeful" about what Democrats have done to the city.  

According to Hudson, Denver has accepted over 45,000 migrants since 2022. He said that these migrants have taken up much of the funding meant for important services in the city, including public schools and parks. 

"Now they're not mowing the grass in parks, the fountains are down, rec centers are closed, the homeless problem is completely out of control," he said. "What they’ve done to Denver is horrific." 

He also called out Democrats for shipping migrants to communities around the city, such as Aurora, where members of the Venezuelan gang "Tren de Aragua" terrorized an entire apartment building.

VENEZUELAN MIGRANT GANG TREN DE ARAGUA NOW OPERATING IN 16 STATES: REPORT

 CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"These migrants are preying on each other, they are abusing women, elderly women, elderly individuals, people who are disabled, they are robbing, they are causing a drug problem that wasn't here before in our state."

"What the Democrats and what our liberals and progressives have done in our state is obscene, and it shows, and our residents are tired of it," he went on. "In the past, it had been filled with hope. I mean, you have the Rocky Mountains in the background where there's nothing but hope and aspiration. Now, when you look down, and you look at the streets, they are filled with people begging not for food, but for their next fix or for a bottle of alcohol, and their souls are crushed."

A representative for the Denver City Council declined to comment on the $356 million spent on migrant services. Instead, the representative told Fox News Digital: "The Denver City Council is the legislative branch of the city government and isn’t involved in the day to day operations of these services."

Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was scolded by his hometown newspaper for "amping up violent rhetoric" with his vow to resist President-elect Trump’s deportation of illegal immigrants.

The editorial board at the Denver Post on Monday published an editorial with the headline, "Denver’s mayor was wrong to threaten armed conflict to protect immigrants," referring to Johnston’s recent suggestion of using the Denver Police to resist federal immigration officials attempting to carry out their job.

"We are not surprised Johnston recklessly elevated the rhetoric around protecting Coloradans without legal immigration status. But that doesn’t make it OK," the editorial said.

The newspaper said the mayor "must choose his words carefully" rather than joining "Trump’s arms race of amping up violent rhetoric around illegal immigration."

MD MAYOR UNDER FIRE FOR PUSHING IMMIGRANT ‘LEGAL ADVOCACY FUND’ TO REBUFF TRUMP-HOMAN AGENDA

"Johnston should keep his remarks far away from violent conflict and focus on peaceful resistance," the editorial said.

Johnston said during a recent interview with Denverite that he was prepared to protest against anything he believes is "illegal or immoral or un-American" in the city – predicting the use of city police against federal officers and a "Tiananmen Square moment."

The mayor was then asked if he was prepared to go to jail for standing in the way of policies enacted by the administration.

NYC HOME TO NEARLY 60K ‘CRIMINAL’ MIGRANTS: REPORT

"Yeah, I'm not afraid of that, and I'm also not seeking that," Johnston said. "I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people [on] how to solve hard problems."

Tom Homan, Trump's "border czar" designate, told Fox News' Sean Hannity last week that he would jail Johnston if he broke the law in shielding illegal migrants. 

"All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S., and he would see he's breaking the law. But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail."

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report. 

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has signaled that funding for services for illegal immigrants is on the chopping block as the agency prepares to hack away at government spending.

The department, which is not an official part of the government, is expected to be empowered by President-elect Trump to audit and implement sweeping changes within government agencies.

DOGE called out U.S. spending on illegal immigration in an X post, saying it cost taxpayers $150.7 billion "in 2023 alone." 

DOGE pointed out that, when adjusted for inflation, U.S. spending on illegal immigration in a single year is comparable to government spending during the entirety of World War I ($334 billion) and the Apollo space program ($257 billion), and significantly more than what was spent on the Manhattan Project ($30 billion), the Panama Canal ($15.2 billion), and the Hoover Dam ($1 billion).

COLORADO REPUBLICANS SOUND OFF ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT SURGE ON CITIZENS: ‘THEIR SOULS ARE CRUSHED’

Musk also weighed in, posting on X that "the scale of spending on illegal immigration boggles the mind!"

The data referenced by DOGE is from a 2023 study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR’s latest report, published in March 2023, estimated that the net cost of illegal immigration – including federal, state and local spending – was "at least" $150.7 billion, amounting to $1,156 per taxpayer. This was up by nearly $35 billion since 2017 when it was $116 billion.

FAIR said it landed on this number by "subtracting the tax revenue paid by illegal aliens – just under $32 billion – from the gross negative economic impact of illegal immigration, $182 billion." By its estimates, the federal government spent $66 billion while state and local expenditures amounted to well over $115 billion.

The U.S. government does not appear to have any recent estimates on how much taxpayer dollars are being spent on illegal immigrants.

Jessica Baxter, a representative for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, told Fox News Digital that the office "does not have any recent work addressing the federal government’s overall cost estimate on immigration-related efforts."

‘THEY ARE FED UP’: DEM MAYOR'S OFFICE DEMANDS SOLUTION ON KEY ISSUE VOTERS SENT ‘RESOUNDING MESSAGE’

"We have a few reports that provide information on costs associated with specific border security or immigration-related efforts, such as estimates of costs for incarceration of noncitizens, but these do not provide overall estimates," she said. "The two reports I’m referring to are from 2018 and 2011, so the data is somewhat dated. Our team is currently working on an update to the 2018 report, but the work is underway, and the report isn’t expected to issue any time soon."

Julie Kirchner, FAIR’s executive director, told Fox News Digital that the $150.7 billion number is actually a "very conservative estimate" and is likely much higher now that the undocumented migrant population has continued to rise.

"The population we cited in the study was 15.5 million, we now estimate that it's over 16.8 million, and we're in the process right now of doing another estimate on the illegal alien population, and I'm sure it will be higher," she explained. "So, we know the costs are going to go up."

She also said the 2023 study did not even include state and local spending on sheltering migrants. Though DOGE’s focus is primarily on the federal government, she said state and local spending – including on education, health care and incarceration – accounts for the largest share of government spending on illegal immigrants.

BERNIE SANDERS ADMITS ‘ELON MUSK IS RIGHT’ TO SLASH PENTAGON WITH DOGE: ‘LOST TRACK OF BILLIONS’

Though exact numbers are hard to come by on the local level, America’s cities are carrying a large part of the burden. New York, the country’s biggest city by population, estimates that with nearly 100,000 asylum seekers having entered the city and "with no end in sight," it will spend more than $12 billion through fiscal year 2025. Chicago, meanwhile, has reportedly spent $400 million on migrant services in the last two years.  

"There are more and more states using state taxpayer dollars to subsidize illegal immigration," she said. "What we are seeing is state and locals are being forced to absorb all of these costs." 

She believes that once Trump retakes office, DOGE and the administration should immediately work to end government health care plans for illegals and close the loophole allowing illegal migrants to get income tax and child tax credits. By doing this, she believes DOGE can save taxpayers around the country "billions and billions of dollars each year."

"There is a lot we can do," she went on. "They are taking our own tax dollars and giving illegal aliens benefits and encouraging more illegal immigration. It is a crazy, crazy scenario where we're seeing people welcome lawlessness, and it's got to stop, and we're hopeful that the DOGE will."