One justification of creating sanctuary cities is often under the guise of protecting 'immigrant rights.' But illegal aliens are not immigrants. An immigrant is a foreign national who legally emigrated to the U.S. and has applied for and have been granted lawful permanent resident status by the U.S. government. When a foreign national is illegally smuggled into the U.S. or violates visa restrictions--he or she is an unauthorized (illegal) alien subject to deportation under existing U.S. law.

Why do public officials pass sanctuary laws or establish unwritten "don't ask--don't tell" policies? There are a variety of reasons. Some politicians attempt to appease politically powerful illegal immigration support groups such as the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDF), and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) that lobby local governments to implement formal or informal sanctuary policies. Other reasons include political contributions and ethnic voter support at election time; complacency, ignorance, or 'don't care' attitudes; and purposeful resistance to existing U.S. immigration law based upon an open-border political philosophy that may serve their economic, political, or ethnocentric interests. A great number of politically appointed big city police chief's often support an administration's sanctuary policy because they share a similar political ideology or just want to keep their job. It's much easier too for city officials to collect their paychecks and avoid the political protests and threats of expensive lawsuits that routinely follow attempts by city administrations who take steps to stop illegal aliens from settling in their communities.

Military strategists understand the importance of denying an enemy geographic sanctuaries. Sanctuaries allow an enemy time to safely operate and build up defensive and offensive capabilities and hold and take ground. Sanctuaries for illegal aliens likewise provide an important strategic advantage over law enforcement.

Sanctuary policies, official or otherwise, result in safe havens (or safer havens) for illegal aliens involved in a variety of criminal enterprises. Sanctuary policies inhibit the ability of law enforcement officers to accurately identify foreign nationals which makes it more difficult to uncover their illegal activities. Illegal aliens face less risk of deportation too if caught by local law enforcement. Sanctuary policies also help shield the operations of Latin American drug cartels, gangs, and terrorist cells--since their activities are less likely to be detected and real identities uncovered by federal law enforcement.

Some sanctuary cities (e.g., Chicago and San Francisco) even receive millions of dollars in federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants to compensate for the cost of jailing illegal alien criminals--even though city sanctuary policies act to encourage illegal alien settlement.

The negative effects of Santa Clara County California's sanctuary policy has put its citizens at greater risk according to the county's District Attorney. District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen has proposed that the County Board of Supervisors vote to ease its law baring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement. Rosen gave an example of a woman who was raped by an illegal alien who had been shielded from from federal detention by the county's policy.

To learn more about the consequences of sanctuary policies and lax immigration law enforcement, visit the Victims of Illegal Aliens Memorial and the Ojjpac homepage.

illegal aliens has resulted in a fast growing illegal alien population and a rapidly increasing fiscal burden on the state's taxpayers. Unsatisfied with the accommodations already in place for illegal aliens, the state legislature adopted a measure in 2011 (SB 167) that allows illegal aliens to extend their taxpayer-funded education beyond public elementary and secondary schooling to higher education. The state's voters will have the opportunity to decide in the November 2012 election whether they want to reverse this policy.

This updated study on what illegal immigration costs Maryland taxpayers includes the following findings:

The state's taxpayers currently pay nearly $1.9 billion in taxes because of the presence of an estimated 295,000 illegal aliens plus nearly 68,000 children born in the United States to illegal aliens.(2012) the numeros are much higher for 2016

In-state tuition for illegal aliens in post-secondary schools will cost the state's taxpayers more than $28 million annually under the 2011 legislation if approved by the voters. This cost to taxpayers will increase as more illegals aliens move to Maryland.

The average Maryland household headed by an American or legal resident shares an annual burden of about $910 to cover the costs of the state's illegal alien population.

Because more than two-thirds of the cost of illegal immigration in Maryland is for education (see chart), and much of that cost is funded locally, the fiscal cost burden is heavier where the illegal alien population is greatest. Montgomery and Prince George's county taxpayers have a greater than average annual burden ($1,420 and $1,025 respectively).

Illegal aliens pay relatively little in taxes, mainly because of their low earnings. We estimate that the state receives approximately $119 million in tax collections from illegal aliens — only a fraction the costs of illegal immigration borne by the taxpayers.