That is the annual cost of detaining an illegal alien. The federal government pays a “bed rate” of $127.82 per day to house each illegal alien detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Three comments. I have never made $46,654 in a year. Isn’t a plane ticket back to the alien’s home country much cheaper? Being the entrepreneur that I am, I will do it for $100 a day and save the government a lot of money. First, I will put each illegal alien in a cheap motel with a free breakfast. Then I will purchase McDonalds for him for lunch … Continue reading $46,654