Newsweek: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reminds America Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes: ‘They Pay Your Kids’ Schooling’

While it is difficult to say exactly how much undocumented immigrants contribute in taxes today, a 2013 report from the Institute On Taxation and Economic Policy highlighted how “the 11.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States” at the time were “already paying a significant share of their income in state and local taxes.”

“Like other people living and working in the United States, undocumented immigrants currently contribute a significant share of their income to state and local taxes,” the report said. “In addition to paying sales and excise taxes when they purchase goods and services like utilities, clothing and gasoline, undocumented immigrants also pay property taxes directly on their homes or indirectly as renters, and at least half are paying income taxes despite lacking legal status.”

Collectively, the report said, undocumented immigrants paid an estimated $10.6 billion in 2010 “with contributions ranging from less than $2 million in Montana to more than $2.2 billion in California.”

“This means these families are likely paying about 6.4 percent on average of their income in state and local taxes,” it said. Read more

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