Unregistered Migrants Also Contribute to Federal Tax Revenue
A fact often overlooked in debates surrounding immigration is that undocumented immigrants annually contribute billions to federal tax revenue, as per expert estimates. This contribution comes through tax returns they file and taxes deducted from their salaries.
The primary reasons that undocumented immigrants pay taxes, according to the National Immigration Law Center, include adherence to federal tax laws, building a "good moral character" that might help their eventual immigration status legalization, and maintaining tax return records that could verify their work history and presence in the US. These records could potentially assist them in acquiring legal immigration status if legislation is enacted.
While critics suggest that tax-paying undocumented immigrants use stolen Social Security numbers, a significant portion of federal tax is paid by those who lack Social Security numbers. They use what's called an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to file their taxes.
The Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center asserts that the majority of tax returns filed with ITINs are by undocumented immigrants. However, this method is also employed by some legal noncitizen immigrants. In 2019, the IRS reported over 2.5 million tax returns filed using ITINs, amassing close to $6 billion in taxes.
In addition to tax returns, it is estimated that billions more are contributed by undocumented immigrants to Social Security annually via payroll tax deductions. For instance, the Social Security Administration accounted for roughly $12 billion in tax revenue from unauthorized workers in 2010.
Immigrant rights advocates have used social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to bring awareness to this issue, especially during tax season. The National Immigration Law Center, for instance, highlighted the fact that undocumented immigrants fund programs they cannot access, through a series of social media posts.
One viral post from 2017 featured Belén Sisa, a college student in Arizona at the time, discussing her experience paying taxes. She emphasized the contributions of immigrants in response to stereotypes that suggest they take more than they give.
In 2019, Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and activist, shared his personal experience as an undocumented immigrant paying taxes on Twitter. His post underscored the irony of undocumented immigrants funding systems that may eventually deport them.