The basic answer: yes.
Immigrants, including those without documentation, pay billions of dollars in taxes to federal, state and local governments every year. Immigrants paid $405.4 billion in taxes in 2017, including an estimated $27.2 billion in taxes paid by undocumented immigrants.
Immigrants have always been, and continue to be vital, to the United States — a country made up of immigrants. Immigrant taxes support local schools, Social Security, and Medicaid, among other programs. However, immigrants are unable to benefit from programs such as Social Security and Medicaid, which are only accessible to permanent residents and U.S. citizens.
Immigrant tax contributions help establish a robust tax base, which means that mass-deporting immigrants from the U.S. or preventing new migrants from coming would have disastrous effects on the economy. In 2013, the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform bill, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office determined that passing the bill into law would reduce the U.S. deficit by $197 billion over 10 years. (Then-Senator Jeff Sessions, convinced of the harmfulness of the bill, wrote to the CBO and asked for a 20-year score, and the CBO found that the bill would have reduced deficits by an additional $700 billion in the law’s second decade.)
The data from the New American Economy puts numbers to the important role immigrants play in the U.S. economy. here are some of the highlights:
All immigrants
There are some 44.4 million immigrants in the U.S., making up 13.6 percent of the total population. They paid $405.4 billion in taxes in 2017 and deployed $1.1 trillion in spending power. Some 7.9 million people are employed by businesses owned by immigrants. 14.7 percent of nurses in the U.S. are foreign-born, while 22.7 percent of health aides are foreign-born. These are both critical professions for the aging population of the U.S. — especially in less-populated places.
Undocumented immigrants
Undocumented immigrants paid $27.2 billion in taxes in 2017, $9.9 billion of which went to state and local governments, and had a total spending power of $200.6 billion. In 2013, Stephen Goss, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration said, “we estimate that earnings by unauthorized immigrants result in a net positive effect on Social Security financial status generally.”
DACA and TPS recipients
DACA and TPS recipients also pay taxes to the tune of $5.5 billion dollars. The DACA-eligible population pays $4 billion in taxes, with $1.8 billion going to state and local governments. TPS holders pay $1.5 billion in taxes, with $653.8 million going to state and local governments.
Highlights from the state numbers
State | Net economic benefit for the state | Total taxes paid | Spending power | Federal
taxes paid |
Local and state taxes paid | |
California | All immigrants in State | $38.7 B | $105.1 B | $282.8 B | $73.5 B | $31.5 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$5.9 B | $42.7 B | $3.9 B | $2.0 B | ||
DACA recipients | $999.9 M | $4.9 B | $581.3 M | $418.6 M | ||
TPS recipients | $257.2 M | $988 M | $152.6 M | $104.6 M | ||
Arizona | All immigrants in State | $2.1 B | $6.2 B | $19.3 B | $4.2 B | $2.1 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$480 M | $3.8 B | $290.5 M | $190.1 M | ||
DACA recipients | $99.8 M | $491.7 M | $49.6 M | $50.2 M | ||
Colorado | All immigrants in State | $1.1 B | $4.2 B | $12.9 B | $2.9 B | $1.2 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$415.7 M | $3.4 B | $267.9 M | $147.7 M | ||
DACA recipients | $75.7 M | $419.8 M | $44.0 M | $31.8 M | ||
Illinois | All immigrants in State | $8.0 B | $17.6 B | $46.6 B | $11.5 B | $6.0 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$1.3 B | $9.2 B | $720.0 M | $539.1 M | ||
DACA recipients | $209.0 M | $947.9 M | $103.1 M | $105.9 M | ||
Texas | All immigrants in State | $12.3 B | $34.8 B | $109.9 B | $24.4 B | $10.4 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$3.7 B | $30.6 B | $2.3 B | $1.4 B | ||
DACA recipients | $596.2 M | $2.9 B | $313.6 B | $282.5 B | ||
Georgia | All immigrants in State | $2.8 B | $9.3 B | $25.9 B | $6.4 B | $2.9 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$839.4 M | $6.4 B | $515.2 M | $324.3 M | ||
DACA recipients | $120.6 M | $610.3 M | $64.6 M | $56.0 M | ||
TPS recipients | $47.5 M | $180.6 M | $20.4 M | $27.1 M | ||
Florida | All immigrants in State | $10.4 B | $28.7 B | $91.9 B | $20.9 B | $7.8 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$1.6 B | $13.2 B | $1.1 B | $533.8 M | ||
DACA recipients | $256.6 M | $1.3 B | $141.7 M | $114.9 M | ||
TPS recipients | $131.7 M | $568.7 M | $57.4 M | $74.3 M | ||
North Carolina | All immigrants in State | $1.5 B | $6.4 B | $18.6 B | $4.4 B | $2.0 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$631.8 M | $5.3 B | $378.9 M | $252.9 M | ||
DACA recipients | $77.7 M | $456.6 M | $39.9 M | $37.8 M | ||
TPS recipients | $59.2 M | $235.8 M | $26.0 M | $33.2 M | ||
Pennsylvania | All immigrants in State | $1.9 B | $8.7 B | $22.9 B | $6.0 B | $2.7 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$532.8 M | $3.7 B | $338.9 M | $193.9 M | ||
DACA recipients | $43.1 M | $204.4 M | $22.4 M | $20.7 M | ||
New York | All immigrants in State | $18.1 B | $51.6 B | $117.8 B | $33.1 B | $18.5 B |
Undocumented
immigrants |
$3.2 B | $18.3 B | $2.0 B | $1.2 B | ||
DACA recipients | $359.3 M | $1.4 B | $203.0 M | $156.3 M | ||
TPS recipients | $188.2 M | $551.0 M | $83.2 M | $104.9 M |
How do undocumented immigrants pay taxes?
It is the law that everyone who resides in the U.S. and earns income must pay taxes on that income, regardless of their immigration status. This puts undocumented workers in something of a legal quandary. They are required to file a tax return but lack the Social Security Number necessary to file such a return. Many immigrants in such a situation use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), to legally file tax returns and report their income to the IRS.
Created in 1996, the ITIN allows for noncitizens in the U.S. to pay income earned in the U.S. while not technically employed by a U.S employer. Basic information is required to obtain an ITIN, but proof of work authorization and legal immigration status is not required. In 2015, 4.35 million people paid over $13.7 billion in taxes using an ITIN.
It is also important to note that ITIN holders’ tax information is legally protected and their information and cannot be shared with DHS or ICE.
Here are some stories of immigrants paying taxes
It's not just a moral imperative for Dreamers and undocumented folks to have a pathway to citizenship — it's an economic one, too.
Dreamers and undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes, @JuanSaaa breaks it down 👇🏽pic.twitter.com/0BHwL2GA0t
— Latino Victory (@latinovictoryus) April 1, 2019
REMINDER: Undocumented immigrants (e.g. Dreamers/DACA) pay taxes EVERY.SINGLE. YEAR.
My essay on #TaxDay and #Immigration via @voxdotcom 👇🏼 https://t.co/H6GNwycruL
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) April 17, 2018
This DACA recipient just did what the president won't: Proved she paid her taxes. https://t.co/UykePHAp2g pic.twitter.com/U0JkgmaL2R
— Splinter (@splinter_news) March 28, 2017
Diego Corzo, DACA recipient and business owner: Last year, I paid $33k in taxes, and I'm happy to do it because I am an American at heart. I hope Dreamers and TPS holders can continue helping to make this country great.
— America's Voice (@AmericasVoice) March 15, 2019
We love you! My niece is a DACA recipient. Full time employed for 15yrs, same amount of time she’s paid taxes to IRS. She’s a UCLA graduate, currently attending graduate school at Loyola to become a licensed counselor. Her dream, help people with addictions. #DACA #CleanDreamAct pic.twitter.com/dE4GpIRon0
— Proud Progressive Texan (@freedm_of_spch) December 6, 2017
Diego Corzo is a DACA recipient and owns nine homes, runs his own realty business, and paid $33,000 in taxes last year alone. Without DACA, Corzo won't be able to qualify for loans for home purchases for his business. https://t.co/1dDfJE1k1A
— FWD.us (@FWDus) August 9, 2018
As a #DACA recipient, tax payer, and homeowner I want to thank our LI Senators for passing the #NYDreamAct and making higher education more accessible. #SiSePuedo @AnnaMKaplan
@MonicaforSenate @KevinThomasNY
@Brooks4NYLI
@Gaughran4Senate @ToddKaminsky pic.twitter.com/zYdIKQn8a2— Eliana Fernández🦋 (@elianadreams) January 26, 2019
"For 18 years I've paid taxes, I've paid all the fees to USCIS, I've paid social security- we need a permanent solution now. We can't pin DACA and TPS against one another" – Erika a @Culinary226 member and TPS recipient
— Francisco Morales (@frcojmorales) January 28, 2018