Immigration and Taxes
Oklahoma Policy Institute: To Improve Public Safety and Insurance rates, Allow Undocumented Oklahomans to Drive Legally
June 8, 2018
Oklahoma’s approximately 95,000 undocumented immigrants are a force in Oklahoma’s economy, accounting for about 1 in 30 members of the workforce and contributing roughly $85 million in state and local taxes annually. But despite their positive economic contributions, undocumented residents face arrest and/or deportation for doing something that many Oklahomans do every day: driving. Read […]
Center for American Progress: The 7 States Suing to End DACA Would Be Harmed by a Victory in Court
June 5, 2018
Through their employment, DACA recipients are contributors to their localities and states as wage earners and taxpayers. A 2017 state-by-state study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showed that the 1.3 million young undocumented immigrants receiving and immediately eligible for DACA contribute significantly to state and local taxes at an estimated $2 billion […]
New Jersey Policy Perspectives: DACA Recipients Contribute $59 Million Per Year in Taxes
May 15, 2018
The ITEP study found that New Jersey’s young immigrants eligible for DACA contribute $59 million in state and local taxes each year, the seventh highest level of all fifty states. These contributions would increase by $38 million per year – the sixth most of all states – if all of those eligible for DACA enrolled […]
In the Face of the Trump Administration’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda, We Must Rely on Evidence to Highlight the Contributions of and Dispel Myths About Dreamers
May 4, 2018 • By Misha Hill
Immigrants face tremendous uncertainty and little hope under the Trump Administration. The administration’s actions—banning travel from residents of primarily Muslim countries, the deportation of Christian Iraqi asylum seekers, and the rescission of DACA, the program that provides temporary reprieve to young immigrants; public statements on the value of immigrants from countries like Norway; and leaked […]
State & Local Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented Immigrants
April 30, 2018 • By Meg Wiehe, Misha Hill
This report specifically examines the state and local tax contributions of undocumented immigrants who are currently enrolled or immediately eligible for DACA and the fiscal implications of various policy changes. The report includes information on the national impact (Chart 1) and provides a state-by-state breakdown (Appendices 1 and 2).
New Jersey Policy Perspectives: Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes: County Breakdown of Taxes Paid
April 16, 2018
While undocumented immigrants in New Jersey now face greater threats from the federal government than ever before, new data at the state and county level released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy make clear that the Garden State’s undocumented immigrants are an important economic benefit to this immigrant-rich state. Read more here
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: All Georgians Stand to Lose from Immigrant Crackdown Measure
March 9, 2018
And Georgia immigrants contribute significant state and local tax revenue, including $352 million a year by undocumented immigrants as a whole and $66 million by Dreamers in particular. Read more here
Kansas Center for Economic Growth: New American immigrants in Kansas strengthen the economy
February 7, 2018
A recent report from the Institute of Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows how undocumented immigrants in Kansas demonstrate their commitment to our state and increase state revenue through the taxes they pay. Read more here
Kansas Center for Economic Growth: New American Immigrants in Kansas Strengthen the Economy
February 7, 2018
Currently, undocumented immigrants residing in Kansas pay nearly $68 million a year in state and local taxes. By granting undocumented immigrants full and legal status, Kansas could receive an additional $11 million in state and local taxes annually, creating a nearly $79 million state and local tax contribution from the undocumented immigrant population. Read more […]
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Immigrants Make Georgia Stronger and Better Every Day
February 1, 2018
Immigrant taxpayers contribute to Georgia’s bottom line. As immigrants start businesses, buy homes, earn wages and spend disposable income at local businesses, they generate considerable state and local tax revenue regardless of citizenship status. Undocumented Georgians contributed an estimated $352 million in state and local taxes in 2014, according to the Institute on Taxation and […]
Third and State: Fact Check: Undocumented Immigrants like the Dreamers are not a Drag on State and Local Governments
January 27, 2018
A recent study by the Institute on Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that the estimated 137,000 undocumented immigrants in Pennsylvania pay our state and local governments almost $135 million in taxes each year. (They pay $11.7 billion in state and local taxes nationwide.) Read more here
Last week, a federal court judge in California ruled that the Trump administration cannot end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) while the case works its way through the courts. Although this is reassuring news for the roughly 685,000 young people currently enrolled or seeking renewals for their DACA status it does not extend protections to new applicants, and it does not lessen the need for congressional action to protect Dreamers.
Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Passage of the Dream Act Would Benefit Kentucky
December 21, 2017
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimates that 6,000 (formerly) DACA-eligible Kentuckians currently contribute a total of $8.1 million in local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income taxes. Their effective tax rate of 9.1 percent is higher than that paid by the wealthiest 1 percent of […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Crackdown on Dreamers could cost Ohio millions
December 21, 2017
If DACA recipients stay in Ohio after losing work authorization they could earn lower wages and become less likely to file income tax returns. Without the Dream Act, Ohio can expect to lose at least $5 million in tax revenue, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Read more here
Wisconsin Budget Project: Giving Young Immigrants a Pathway to Citizenship Would Boost Wisconsin’s Farm Economy
December 20, 2017
According to a new report from the Wisconsin Budget Project, passing the Dream Act and establishing a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth would help Wisconsin farms and communities by: Expanding Wisconsin’s economy by up to $600 million a year by improving the access that immigrants have to educational and economic opportunity; Increasing state and […]
Wisconsin Budget Project: Dream Act Would Boost Wisconsin Economy and Tax Revenues: Revoking DACA Hurts Both
December 20, 2017
There are 10,000 young immigrants potentially eligible for DACA who call Wisconsin home. They currently contribute a total of $16 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes, and income tax. Read more here
Michigan League for Public Policy: The benefits of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on immigrants in Michigan
December 20, 2017
Researchers at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimate that nationwide, DACA enrollees contribute $2 billion in state and local taxes each year. In Michigan, these young adults contribute $13 million in state and local taxes annually. If federal elected officials fail to pass a replacement to DACA and beneficiaries’ work permits expire, […]
New Jersey Policy Perspectives: Failure to Act on DACA and Dream Act Would Harm New Jersey’s Tax Revenues
December 20, 2017
There are 53,000 young immigrants who were potentially eligible for DACA that call New Jersey home. They have attended our public schools, graduated high school and many have enrolled in our public colleges. And many are our coworkers, our neighbors and loved ones. They currently pay a total of $57 million to state and local […]
Florida Policy Institute: Dream Act: What’s at Stake for Florida?
December 20, 2017
There are 72,000 young immigrants who were potentially eligible for DACA that call Florida home. They currently contribute a total of $78 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income tax. Read more here
The Commonwealth Institute: Dream Act Would Boost Virginia Families, Communities, State Economy, and Tax Revenues; Revoking DACA Hurts All
December 20, 2017
There are 30,000 young immigrants who were potentially eligible for DACA and call Virginia home. They currently contribute a total of $29.3 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income tax. Read more here
NC Policy Watch: Devastating consequences if Congress fails to replace DACA in three months
December 20, 2017
State and local government coffers would also take a hit if Congress fails to pass the Dream Act, or another effective solution. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that current DACA recipients pay almost $58 million in state and local taxes, contributions which could grow to $78 million if the Dream Act were […]
Center for Public Policy Priorities: The National Dream Act: What’s at stake for Texas?
December 18, 2017
Researchers estimate that approximately 177,000 young Texas immigrants are potentially eligible for DACA, and they currently contribute a total of $241 million to local and state taxes annually through sales and excise taxes, property taxes and income tax. Without the national Dream Act, Texas can expect to lose at least $79 million in state and […]
Minnesota Budget Project: 4 Reasons DACA should be restored ASAP
December 18, 2017
DACA results in increased economic activity in our communities and increased tax revenues. DACA recipients in Minnesota contribute an estimated $15 million in state and local taxes annually. Read more here
As 2017 draws to close, Congress has yet to take legislative action to protect Dreamers. The young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, and are largely working or in school, were protected by President Obama’s 2012 executive action, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). But in September, President Trump announced that he would end DACA in March 2018. Instead of honoring the work authorizations and protection from deportation that currently shields more than 685,000 young people, President Trump punted their lives and livelihood to a woefully divided Congress which is expected to take up legislation…
Updated Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented Immigrants
December 13, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
In September 2017, US Citizenship and Immigration Services released updated enrollment data for the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The updated data included estimates of the number of former DACA enrollees that were now legal permanent residents and those that failed to reapply or their reapplication was denied. The table below provides updated estimates of their tax contributions.
