A recent Bloomberg News report points to the massive influx of migrants who are heading to Illinois once they enter the United States. The article examined the addresses provided by migrants for immigration court cases. According to the report’s metrics, there was an increase of 821 percent in the number of migrants listing an Illinois address from just 2021 to 2023.

Governor JB Pritzker has made it a major priority of his administration to provide services for migrants, stating that he wanted to make Illinois the “Most Welcoming State in the Nation” for non-citizens. Illinois is one of just two states providing free healthcare for non-citizens, along with numerous other taxpayer-funded services. When Pritzker took office, spending on non-citizen programs was just a few million dollars per year, but that has ballooned to roughly $1 billion per year over the last two years.

Last week, the Governor presented his annual budget proposal, including $1 billion in tax increases on families and businesses.

It’s no coincidence that the Governor’s tax hike proposals so closely match up with the amount his administration has been spending on migrant services. The Governor needs to focus on programs helping Illinois citizens, instead of using the taxpayers to fund his myriad of programs for migrants.