Enforcement

Do undocumented immigrants pay taxes?

Undocumented Immigrants play a crucial role in the U.S. economy, not only through their labor but also through substantial tax contributions that support public services and government programs.

  • In 2022, households led by undocumented immigrants paid $75.6B in total taxes. This includes:
    • $29.0B in state and local taxes
    • $46.6B in federal taxes
  • In 2022, approximately 4.5% of the U.S. workforce was undocumented.
  • 89.8% of undocumented immigrants are of working age.

Our Map the Impact tool shows the tax contributions of immigrants at the national, state and local level.

Recent Features

All Enforcement Content

December 17, 2015

Each year, the Border Patrol—a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—holds hundreds of thousands of individuals in detention facilities near the U.S. southern border. These...

Publication Date: 
December 17, 2015
These accounts reveal the dehumanizing conditions to which these women were subjected while in Border Patrol custody.
December 15, 2015

For the last 10 years, in federal courts across the Southwest border, the federal government has systematically prosecuted unlawful border crossers in group hearings with little-to-no due process...

December 14, 2015

As we move through the 2016 presidential election cycle, the issue of immigration will continue to be a central topic of the debate. The United States is at a tipping point after more than two...

December 10, 2015

In 2002, in the wake of 9/11, Congress and the White House embarked upon an unprecedented bureaucratic experiment: grafting together 22 federal agencies into a single entity that was supposed to...

December 3, 2015

Although our nation’s immigration courts currently have record backlogs, there may be some help on the way. That was the message from Juan Osuna, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration...

December 2, 2015

Senator Bernie Sanders, a contender for the Democratic nomination for President, recently released his updated and vastly expanded immigration platform. His initial plan was short on detail;...

November 24, 2015

The government recently began transferring families who have been held in Texas to the Berks County Family Residential Facility in Pennsylvania. Not only have these sudden transfers traumatized...

November 23, 2015

Last summer, the U.S. government decided to prioritize the deportations of unaccompanied children and of families with children in response to increased numbers of children fleeing violence in...

November 18, 2015

Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-FL) recently released his immigration plan entitled, “Cruz Plan to Stop Illegal Immigration: Secure the Border, Restore the Rule of Law, and Protect...

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