Rep. Paul Ray says that the United States must change the 14th Amendment because citizen children of illegal aliens are costing the federal and state governments at least $63.5 million in social service benefits a year in Utah alone. He may be right about that cost figure, but that's only half of the story.

What the Clearfield Republican's number doesn't reflect is that illegal aliens pay taxes. They pay sales taxes on most purchases, all of which go to state and local governments. The state sales tax is the second-largest source of state revenue, behind the income tax. Everyone, including aliens, also pays property taxes, either directly or through rent.

Any fair accounting of the impact of citizen children of illegal aliens should include both the costs and the revenues. So far, Ray is talking only about the costs.

Does that mean that immigrant families are carrying their share of the tax burden? We doubt it, but we don't really know. Many probably don't file state income-tax returns, although we don't know how many do. The same probably is true of federal income taxes. But many citizens who are at the low end of the income scale do not pay income taxes either. In general, the law does not require a couple under the age of 65, filing jointly with a gross income below $18,700 to file a federal income-tax return.

In addition, many illegal aliens pay FICA taxes that are withheld from their paychecks, even though they will never claim the Social Security or Medicare benefits that those taxes fund.

Then there's the issue of how much the large, illegal work force contributes to the overall economy. Illegal labor picks most of the nation's crops. It builds the nation's homes, landscapes its yards, cleans its hotel rooms, provides child care. Much of that labor is underpaid, which is a huge indirect subsidy to the U.S. economy. How much is that worth in Utah? We can't put a number on it, and neither can Ray, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

In fact, reputable economists are divided on whether illegal immigrant labor is a net benefit or a net drain on the economy. Sure there are costs, as Ray's $63.5 million figure indicates. But there are also huge benefits, which are much more difficult to pin down.

One of the best arguments for comprehensive immigration reform is to document foreign workers, perhaps through a guest worker program, so that they and their employers do pay their full tax obligations. But you can't talk reasonably about immigration until you consider both sides of the ledger.