Cost to deport offset by future savings on assistance programs

In reference to the letter to the editor penned by Karen Carlton on August 2, 2025, Alligator Alcatraz was never intended to be a resort for foreigners looking for a high-end retreat. Alligator Alcatraz was “built” for criminals awaiting deportation. Six weeks of a bed to sleep on, three squares a day and working toilets should more than suffice.

Carlton must be forgetting those enjoying Alligator Alcatraz broke our nation’s laws by entering the USA while defying the standard legal process. This categorizes them as illegal. Should they start a family and find themselves deported, it seems they should have foreseen this as a possible outcome. Who pays for their heedlessness? The American taxpayer.

I recall hearing from the Left that the expense of the deportation process would break the bank. Hmmm. The cost of deportation pales to the cost taxpayers spend to keep them here: $42 billion from welfare programs and $68.1 billion to educate children of illegals annually. The monetary cost pales to the fentanyl deaths and murders by illegals since their unlawful entrance into our country. Does anyone remember Molly Tibbets? I digress.

Carlton also likened Alligator Alcatraz to concentration camps. Food, toilets, and beds are all things lacking in concentration camps. All are present at Alligator Alcatraz.

Once the illegals are flown home, the money we spend to house, feed, educate, and medicate them, all at no cost to the person, will vanish. Take that to the bank.

Donna Sims

Cedar Rapids