Donald Trump built his Presidential campaign on the false claim that most undocumented immigrants are criminals and takers, but unlike him, they’ve actually been the ones paying billions of dollars in state and federal taxes annually.
Over the weekend, a bombshell report revealed that “Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, records obtained by The New York Times show.”
Remember, this is a man who has also taken advantage of bankruptcy laws more times than you can count on one hand. So if the NYT’s reporting adds up, this is some big brass coming from a Presidential candidate who can’t stop screaming about giving “free stuff” to “illegal immigrants.”
The fact of that matter is that while Trump has apparently avoided contributing his fair share in order to keep our nation running, undocumented immigrants contribute nearly $12 billion in state and federal taxes annually, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
In Trump’s home state of New York, undocumented immigrants pay over $1.1 billion in local and state taxes annually. That’s a lot of contributions from a lot of Miss Housekeepings.
According to Stephen Goss, chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, undocumented immigrants have also paid $100 billion into the Social Security fund over the past decade. “Yet as these people are in the US illegally,” notes VICE, “it is unlikely that they will be able to benefit from their contributions later in life.”
Undocumented immigrants help keep our roads clear, our military strong, and our seniors cared for. Trump’s contributions? Nada. So if he really wants to stick by his schtick about making America great again, he can start by doing his part and paying taxes just like millions of undocumented immigrants do every year.