Undocumented immigrants pay an estimated $100 billion in taxes, study finds

[ad_1]

Anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise: This year, more than half (55%) of Americans say they would like to see a decrease in immigration, for the first time since 2001. country, and Republicans are promising “the largest mass deportation program in American history” if they win the White House this fall.

That stems from the belief that immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, consume government resources while contributing nothing. However, new research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that the opposite is true. Undocumented immigrants actually contributed nearly $100 billion in taxes by 2022, while they could not use many of the programs funded by their tax dollars.

Here are the key results of the study:

• Undocumented immigrants are a major source of tax dollars: In 2022, they pay $96.7 billion, of which $60 billion goes to the federal government. For the 1 million undocumented immigrants, federal services receive an additional $8.9 billion. More than one-third of the taxes these immigrants pay go to programs they cannot access, such as Social Security ($25.7 billion), Medicare ($6.4 billion), and unemployment insurance ($1.8 billion).
• Undocumented immigrants generally pay higher tax rates than US citizens: In 40 states, undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local taxes than the top 1% of households. They also can’t get many tax credits, often don’t realize they can claim a refund, and often don’t have access to tax help.
• Job authorization can be a win-win: Giving undocumented immigrants work authorization would result in an increase in their tax contributions from $40 billion to $137 billion annually as work authorization would increase wages.

“Overall, federal tax revenue for undocumented immigrants reached $59.4 billion in 2022, while state and local taxes stood at $37.3 billion,” the study’s authors wrote. “These statistics make it clear that immigration policy choices have a significant impact on public revenues at all levels of government.”