In 2022, the sector, which is essential for the operation of many basic services, contributed $59.4 billion to federal coffers and $37.3 billion to state and local coffers, according to the study published Tuesday.
An estimated 11 million undocumented workers live in the United States, many of them for decades. Most of them come from the Americas, with just over four in 10 from Mexico. Nearly a quarter come from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Pacific Islands.
The labor force participation rate is higher among undocumented immigrants than among the native-born population. Although they are only 3.4% of the total population, immigrants make up 4.7% of the labor force, according to the study.
The authors of the report estimate that if they had work permits, their tax contribution would rise to 136.9 billion annually.
“The conclusion is that, regardless of immigration status, we all contribute by paying our taxes,” said Marco Guzmán, co-author of the study and senior political analyst at ITEP, a nonprofit organization, in a statement.
And it’s all profit for the administrations. More than a third of what they pay is used to finance the pension system (Social Security) and the public medical system (Medicare) from which undocumented workers are excluded.
They also cannot access benefits that other regular taxpayers have, such as tax advantages for dependent children or low income.
Six states – California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey – each collected more than $1 billion in taxes from undocumented immigrants.
In 40 states, undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local taxes than the bottom 1 percent of families, the study found.
The majority (46%) are taxes on sales and specific consumption, 31% corresponds to taxes on real estate and 21% on personal or corporate income.
Workers do not have a Social Security number, which is essential to work legally in the country, but they do have a tax identification number (ITIN) that allows them not only to pay taxes but also to buy a house or a car.
“This study is another reminder that undocumented immigrants contribute to our economies and shared public services, and that immigration policy decisions made in the coming years will have significant consequences for public revenues,” the report concludes.
