Undocumented Immigrants Contribute Billions in Taxes Annually, Despite Exclusion from Many Benefits
WASHINGTON – Despite ongoing debates over immigration policy and access to social services, undocumented immigrants contribute billions of dollars in taxes each year to the U.S. economy,a fact highlighted by recent personal stories and ongoing advocacy. This tax contribution occurs even as these individuals are frequently enough excluded from benefiting from many of the programs their taxes support.
In 2017, Belén Sisa, then a college student in Arizona and a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, brought the issue to the forefront with a viral social media post. “Wanna tell me again how I should be deported, contribute nothing and only leech off this country while the 1% wealthiest people in this country steal from you everyday?” she wrote, sparking a wider conversation about the economic contributions of undocumented individuals. Sisa later told CNN she wanted to demonstrate that undocumented immigrants “come from all over the world, and that we contribute more than people think that we do.”
The issue resurfaced in 2019 when Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and activist Jose Antonio Vargas paused finalizing his taxes to share his own experience on Twitter. “Yes,” he wrote, “undocumented immigrants are helping fund the very systems that detain and deport us.” These individual experiences underscore a broader economic reality: undocumented immigrants pay federal, state, and local taxes.
While precise figures vary depending on the methodology, studies consistently show significant tax contributions. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimates that in 2022, undocumented immigrants paid an estimated $35.1 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. This includes $13.1 billion in federal income taxes, $8.2 billion in state and local income taxes, and $13.8 billion in property taxes.
These contributions are made through various means, including Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) issued by the IRS to individuals without Social Security numbers. Many undocumented workers are employed in essential sectors, such as agriculture, construction, and food service, and their wages are subject to payroll taxes.
Despite these contributions, undocumented immigrants are largely ineligible for federal benefits like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, meaning their tax dollars primarily support programs benefiting U.S. citizens and legal residents. The debate over immigration reform continues, with advocates arguing that providing a pathway to citizenship would further boost the economy and allow undocumented immigrants to fully participate in the tax system and benefit from its protections.
