The White House: Fixing Our Broken Immigration System

Trends in the agriculture sector – due in part to growing domestic demand for fresh fruit and vegetables year-round – indicate that farmworkers are increasingly settling permanently in places where they previously worked temporarily.37 This means not only a more stable and available workforce for farmers, but also higher, year-round consumer demand in the local community’s economy and higher government revenues. Indeed, providing opportunities for immigrants to work legally in the U.S. could add as much as $2 billion to annual local and state tax revenues, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.38 State and local income tax revenues would increase by $1.6 billion, with sales and property tax collections increasing by $420 million and $76 million respectively. By expanding the tax base, common-sense immigration reform will provide greater resources to these governments, including those in rural communities, to ensure every individual in their community has an opportunity to succeed and to prosper.

Read the Full Report (PDF)