Is there any truth in letter to the editor over Immigrant poverty?

Immigrant poverty
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8832159
Article Last Updated: 04/07/2008 12:56:34 AM MDT

A study by the National Academy of Sciences says that every legal immigrant who comes into this country in poverty and without a high school diploma ends up costing the country $89,000 over their lifetime - that's above and beyond the taxes they will pay and doesn't count the cost of educating their children.
The obvious reason for this is because people in poverty pay little in taxes and heavily use government benefits and social services. A superpower like the U.S. doesn't operate and prosper from people in poverty, which begs the question: Why do we legally allow people in based on kinship rather than the skills they possess? Shouldn't we be looking for people with skills we can use?
At the rate low-skilled and uneducated illegal immigrants are flooding over the border, we are going to be inundated, not to mention the exponential baby-making that will more than likely perpetuate the cycle of poverty, ultimately culminating in a nation of poverty.
Poverty doesn't pay - immigration reform a must!

John Bigler
Salt Lake City

I believe it!