Editor’s Note: A version of this article was originally published in 2019.
UJ
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It’s an often-ignored reality in discussions surrounding immigration.
Experts estimate that undocumented immigrants contribute billions of dollars to federal taxes each year through tax returns and withholdings from their paychecks.
This leads us to explore the reasons behind this phenomenon.
The National Immigration Law Center highlights several motivations for why undocumented immigrants pay taxes:
• It demonstrates adherence to federal tax regulations.
• It may assist in proving “good moral character” should they later seek to legalize their immigration status.
• Records of tax returns could serve as evidence of their work history and residency in the U.S., which could potentially support their eligibility for legal status if immigration reform occurs.
Opponents of illegal immigration have frequently claimed that undocumented immigrants are paying taxes using stolen Social Security numbers. However, many federal tax dollars are contributed yearly by individuals who lack any Social Security numbers.
Rather, they file their taxes using what is called an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank based in Washington, estimates that “most experts believe that a large number of tax returns submitted with ITINs are completed by undocumented immigrants.”
Additionally, some noncitizens who have legally immigrated to the U.S. utilize this method of filing taxes.
In 2019, the IRS reported that over 2.5 million tax returns were submitted using ITINs, totaling nearly $6 billion in tax revenue.
In addition to returns, officials estimate that undocumented immigrants contribute billions to Social Security every year through deductions made directly from their wages. For instance, in 2010, the Social Security Administration estimated that contributions from unauthorized workers generated around $12 billion in tax revenue for Social Security.
Recently, posts from immigrant rights advocates on social media platforms during tax season have highlighted this issue.
“Undocumented immigrants contribute billions in taxes to support programs they cannot use,” stated the National Immigration Law Center in a series of recent social media updates.
In 2017, a post by Belén Sisa detailing her tax experiences gained widespread attention.
“Care to tell me again why I should be deported, contribute nothing, and only drain resources from this country while the wealthiest 1% rob you blindly every single day?” Sisa wrote in her post, reflecting her status as a university student in Arizona at that time.
The DACA program recipient later shared with UJ her reasons for taking a stand.
“I aimed to show that we are present, hail from diverse backgrounds, and provide more than what people often assume,” she commented.
Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has transformed his challenges as an undocumented immigrant into a platform for advocacy, took a moment during tax season in 2019 to post about his own experiences on Twitter.
“Indeed,” he expressed, “undocumented immigrants are financing the very systems that detain and deport us.”
