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Immigration

Policy Pulse – November 2024

By Blog Post, Newsletter
November 21, 2024

Fear Donald Trump — Not Immigrants

By Blog Post

Demonizing and stoking fear of immigrants is at the center of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign this year, as it was in 2016. Yet what Americans should really be afraid of is Trump’s opposition to immigration. For immigrants make a huge contribution to our economy and our well-being, as they have for our entire history.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t focus our attention on creating a better, fairer immigration system. We should want immigrants to enter but in a controlled way. President Biden and Vice President Harris worked closely with Republicans in Congress to frame legislation to create a well-funded and regulated immigration process. But Donald Trump demanded that Republicans reject the plan because he cares more about dividing and distracting us by blaming and shaming immigrants instead of solving problems.

The truth is that people who have come to this country seeking a better life for their families or seeking asylum—as my grandparents did a hundred years ago—have made, and continue to make, major contributions to our country. It’s not easy to move here. People who come here brave terrible hardships and often threats of violence to do so. They bring their energy and ambition to our country, one that has always made a place for such people.

To see this, just look at their contributions to our own state of Pennsylvania.

Right now, 10% of Pennsylvania workers are immigrants. It’s well known that many work on farms and in construction. But they have a wide range of jobs. About 24% of college professors are immigrants; 30% of software developers are immigrants; and 26% of doctors are immigrants as well. Moreover, the ambitions and talents of immigrants lead them to become entrepreneurs; they account for 14% of all business owners and about 20% of businesses on our main streets.

All told, immigrants generate $100 billion of economic output in Pennsylvania alone, which is about equal to their share of the labor force. And they all pay taxes. Even undocumented immigrants pay sales and property taxes as well as federal income and payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. Undocumented immigrants pay these taxes even though, contrary to what their critics say, they are not eligible to receive Social Security or Medicare. The taxes they pay more than make up for the cost of educating their children, most of whom are U.S. citizens.

And no, immigrants don’t take jobs from native-born Americans—this should be obvious when our unemployment rate is at an historic low. Rather, their contribution to our economy as consumers increases the total amount of jobs.

Nor do immigrants generate higher crime rates. Of course, some immigrants commit violent crimes and those that do should be deported. But the crime rate for immigrants is actually below that for native-born Americans.

What is especially strange about the right-wing attack on immigrants is that they are contributing to the solution of a problem often mentioned by J.D. Vance.

Vance worries about a decline in our population. We agree that a vibrant economy not only needs more people but a balance between children and seniors. The willingness of ambitious young people to come to our country and have children, and our willingness to accept them, gives the United States a huge advantage over other advanced countries. It is one reason we are growing faster than all the others.

And immigrants are also well on their way to solving another problem—ensuring the future of Social Security and Medicare. Without immigration, our population will age and the proportion of workers to retirees will shrink, reducing funding for these programs. But when people move here, they provide the younger workers that will ensure that all of us who are aging will receive Social Security and Medicare benefits.

If we care about the future of the United States, we will reject Donald Trump’s divisive and hateful rhetoric. We will join together and take steps to control our border while providing a path to citizenship for immigrants who are already doing so much to make all of our lives better. And we will create a fair immigration system that welcomes those who seek refuge and opportunity in this country, as so many of our forebears did in the past.

 

October 23, 2024

Press Release – National ITEP Study: Undocumented Immigrants Contribute $523,100,000 in PA Taxes Per Year

By Policy Briefs, Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 29, 2024 

Contact: Kirstin Snow, snow@pennpolicy.org or Jon Whiten at ITEP, jon@itep.org or 917-655-3313 

National Study: Undocumented Immigrants Contribute $523,100,000 in PA Taxes Per Year  

Pennsylvania Policy Center Joins Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy on PA-Specific Release 

Immigration policies have taken center stage in public debates this year, but much of the conversation has been driven by emotion, not data. A new, in-depth national study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) aims to help change that by quantifying how much undocumented immigrants pay in taxes, both nationally and in each state.  

Here in Pennsylvania, undocumented immigrants contributed $523,100,000 in state and local taxes in 2022 — a number that would have risen to $667,000,000 if these taxpayers had been granted work authorization, according to the study.  

Other key findings:  

  • Nationally, undocumented immigrants contributed $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Of this, $37.3 billion went to state and local governments.  
  • For every one million undocumented immigrants who reside in the country, public services receive $8.9 billion in additional tax revenue. On the flip side, for every one million undocumented immigrants who are deported, public services stand to lose $8.9 billion in tax revenue.  
  • Nationally, providing access to work authorization to all current undocumented immigrants would increase their tax contributions by $40.2 billion per year to $136.9 billion.  
  • More than a third of the tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants are toward payroll taxes dedicated to funding programs — like Social Security and Medicare — that these workers are barred from accessing.  
  • Similarly, income tax payments by undocumented immigrants are affected by laws that require them to pay more than otherwise similarly situated U.S. citizens; as one example, they are often barred from receiving meaningful tax credits like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit. However, many states have made their versions of these credits more immigrant-inclusive in recent years.  
  • In PA and 39 other states, undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local tax rates than the top 1 percent of households living within their borders. 

“This study is the most comprehensive look at how much undocumented immigrants pay in taxes. And what it shows is that they pay quite a lot, to the tune of nearly $100 billion a year,” said Marco Guzman, ITEP senior policy analyst and co-author of the study. “The bottom line here is that regardless of immigration status, we all contribute by paying our taxes.”   

In Pennsylvania, $183,600,000 of the tax contributions are through sales and excise taxes, while $139,600,000 are through property taxes, and $185,300,000 are through personal or business income taxes.  

Marc Stier, executive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, said, “While this study is the most comprehensive analysis of taxes paid by undocumented immigrants, it is worth noting that it does not attempt to quantify broader impacts that flow from the increased economic activity created by these individuals. Taking those economic ripple effects into account would likely reveal undocumented immigrants to have an even larger significance to public revenues than is documented here.” 

Patty Torres, co-deputy director of Make the Road Pennsylvania commented on the study, “This study is another reminder that undocumented immigrants are contributing to our economies and our shared public services, and that immigration policy choices made in the years ahead will have significant consequences for public revenues.” Make the Road Pennsylvania is a partner organization with CASA and the Pennsylvanians Together campaign of the Pennsylvania Policy Center.  

“The value that immigrants offer to Pennsylvania is indispensable to the economy. According to ITEP, undocumented immigrants paid an average effective state and local tax of 8.9% toward funding infrastructure, services, and institutions in their home states like Pennsylvania, as measured relative to their incomes. This is juxtaposed by the most affluent taxpayers who pay just 7.2% in their home state,” said Daniel Alvalle, CASA’s Pennsylvania director. “More than that, immigrant families are part of our society, with everyone intertwined into one community: parents, teachers, children, custodians, healthcare workers, and so much more. Where we live is where we play and work. Our tax system should reflect the contributions that everyone makes, including immigrant workers.” 

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July 29, 2024