People who push for more and tougher anti-illegal alien laws often assert that undocumented workers in the US pay no taxes yet receive a disproportionate amount of support from federal and state relief programs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. One of the biggest illegal immigrations pros is that these workers do in fact pay taxes but do not, as a whole, take part in such programs.
Despite the popular misconception that illegal aliens do not pay taxes, the truth is that the Internal Revenue Service gathered almost $305 million in taxes in 2001 from people who filed using an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). The ITIN is a special number given to those who do not have Social Security numbers but need to file taxes. That is what illegal aliens commonly use to pay their taxes.
Of course, undocumented workers are also paying sales taxes whenever they buy something, just as legal residents and citizens do. They also pay $7 billion in Social Security taxes every year even though they cannot benefit from Social Security programs. In reality, Social Security is kept afloat and working to a certain extent through the contributions of illegal immigrants.
The idea that illegal aliens are getting food stamps or benefiting from Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security programs is also untrue. Undocumented immigrants are barred from taking part in most federal, state and local aid programs. Some exceptions: illegal workers do benefit from free public schooling for their children and are eligible for short-term disaster relief.
So what are some other illegal immigration pros?
These workers contribute to the American economy by complementing rather than replacing the US workforce. In many areas of the US there is a shortage of labor for low-paying or unskilled jobs. These are the jobs commonly filled by illegal aliens (most of whom are from Mexico), freeing up the local labor pool for better paying jobs.
Even with the recession, for example, Texas business owners state that it is still quite difficult to hire labor for certain tasks. To cite another example, Arizona lettuce farms will need 40,000 people to hand-pick their produce each year – a huge labor force that the area simply doesn’t have if the owners only look for local workers.
Some even say that if there were no undocumented workers available in the US, many businesses that need a large labor force would be forced to move their production overseas.
Unauthorized workers therefore contribute to the local labor force in a complementary way. Rather than replacing the local labor pool or competing with locals for jobs, the illegal workers make possible the affluent lifestyle of the local residents.
The real question is whether the illegal immigration pros outweigh the cons. Regarding the labor force, illegal workers also play a big role in providing a readily available work force for local businesses. As far as taxes and benefits are concerned, the picture is quite clear. Unauthorized workers pay more in taxes than they take out in the form of government services, due to their ineligibility for most services.
TOTALLY WRONG! A majority of illegal immigrants do feed off the government and American tax-payers! I have nothing against immigrants who try to become a citizen of the country and enter it legally! But I do have something against ILLEGAL immigrants! Why, you say, are illegal immigrants so bad??? Well, I could sum it up in one sentence for you, or I could write PARAGRAPHS for you on why they are bad for America, including facts and statistics! To sum it up for you, like I just offered, I can say that the BIGGEST reason that illegal immigrants are bad for America is because of the basic fact that they are ILLEGAL!!! And if you like, I would very much like to debate with you the other how many reasons why they are ad for America, or as you think of it why they are good for America. Or, if you like, we can just agree to disagree. But for the latter, I have one condition, DON’T SPEW LIES ABOUT THE IMPACT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ON AMERICA, PLEASE!! I’m sure it would benefit everyone (just like your precious illegal immigrants).
Lee, where is your evidence to support your comment, “DON’T SPEW LIES ABOUT THE IMPACT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ON AMERICA, PLEASE!!”?
How is it that Illegal Immigrants PAY these taxes?
As an employer, I am required to make deposits every single month of all payroll taxes and I have to submit a list of every employee with their respective social security number. Payroll tax returns have to tie out to the penny, or there are penalties to pay. Annually, each employee’s tax account must be properly credited and accounted for.
As it is against the law to employ anyone without a valid social security number (ALSO with extreme penalties in play), I don’t know how an employer could do that and not wind up having the IRS shut down the company and take over the business. I know that illegal aliens are hired in the U.S. – I just can’t figure out how the government could receive the tax money unaccounted for. HOW is this accomplished?
Can you post the link of the web site where you read that so that I can start that homework? Maybe someone out there who is hiring illegal aliens can post here how it is you can get this done and not get caught.
i feel and know that most who are against illegal immigration have been brainwashed by this lame government and could care less about looking past the “numbers”. regardless of what the media, government and any other prejudice person with an opinion, WE ALL HAVE IMMIGRANTS IN OUR FAMILIES!!!Whites, African Americans, Asians ect. People need to stop pointiong the fingers and figure out how we can help the “Illegal Immigrants” to become better educated and maybe the statistical numbers would go down!!!!
Thank you yess exactly stop saying that its just Hispanic Immigrants Its all race and countries. Stop accusing all immigrants now because everyones an immigrant descendent and if they heard of downing and avoiding and deporting IMMIGRANTS YOU WOULD BE A DISAPPOINTMENT Im a hispannic american yet i lived the life of my IMMIGRANT DESCENDENTS and the economy crisis and accusations are rediculious
HISPANICS MAKE UP OVER 90% OF ILLEGAL APPREHENSIONS IN 2009
WHAT COUNTRY WOULD ALLOW TENS OF MILLIONS OF FOREIGNERS TO ENTER THIS COUNTRY ILLEGALLY? ANSWER: A CORRUPT COUNTRY.
Don’t blame the messenger. The 15+ million Mexican nationals that are hiding in shadows, overflowing U.S. prisons and bankrupting U.S. hospitals and schools are here because the U.S. gov’t wants them here. White America has become weak and impudent allowing hispanics to drag this country down. A weak and uneducated populous demands a large and overbearing gov’t.
These comments are founded on opinion, no facts are represented to support what you’ve said. When have you ever applied for a job and not gotten it because an immigrant was doing your work? In most cases they do the jobs that the traditional white non-Hispanic Americans are not willing to do. Go educate yourself more before you mindlessly spout your useless opinions.
16% of the US population (Hispanic) had 42% of the births for 2009. There are 55,000,000 Hispanics in the US – not including illegals. The population of all of Mexico is only 107,000,000. I think we have enough Hispanics. There were 350,000 children born to undocumented women in the US last year. Let’s see 350,000 X $10,000 (modest cost of having a baby) I don’t have enough windows on my calculator.
Because they REFUSE to speak English, how much money is poured into phone messaging and interpreters? Our high school let Advanced Placement teachers go and hired “Interpreters”. There has to be a full time interpreter at our public health clinic.
John Crawford this is how you do it. You have them fill out a W2 form or 1099 take their laser jet SS card and copy it. When it comes time to file they don’t. They declare 8 dependents and so they pay no taxes and in fact are due a TAX CREDIT. That’s why they want to pass E-Varify. The SS office has to tell you if the SS# is good. NOW they just say, “Tell them to report to the nearest SS office.” Day laborers get paid in cash. No taxes no nothing. We went out of business because we could not compete with day laborers. We had three crews of 10 and were paying $3,000 a MONTH in Workmens’ Comp alone. We offered health care and paid 1/2 the cost. Day laborers are left at the hospital for free care to be passed unto us in higher premiums. We had to include these costs in our bids so we always lost. 30 taxpaying people out of work for 40 no pay tax people. They’re just as lazy as they have always been just CHEAPER or maybe NOT.
John Crawford THAT’S what the big stink in about – the government does NOTHING. I’m surprised you’re still in business.
Dear Lee:
i would very much like to debate this issue with you. i am a conservative college student. initially i was very much against illegal labor in the united states. in developing a literature review for a final paper i was forced to change my thesis entirely. regardless of the reality that the limitation of labor, employment options, and the choice of employers to peruse the best labor for the lowest cost is in direct contradiction of the conservative free market paradigm, i was forced to concede that exploited labor is indeed very good for our suffering economy. while there exists a great deal of data (circa prior to 2002) that establishes a limited (though clear) deficit on costs to the united states vs benefits obtained, these studies neglect the last fiscal decade that include global economic crisis, the housing market crash, hurricane katrina, devastating tornadoes in alabama, etc. etc. etc. a vast majority of literature that i found indicated a clear economic benefit to all demographics and levels of the US economy. the only demographic that suffers is the high school drop out. Other studies indicate, however, that levels of higher education (both completion of high school and college) are dramatically increasing creating a deficit of labor for business looking for under skilled workers.
anyone hear about alabama?
additionally i could comment on human rights violations but ill simply leave those at this “no taxation without representation”.
check your sources. it was difficult for me to deal with too but in an attempt to oppose most that is wrong with this country when the facts change so will my opinion.
Illegal immigrants come to the united states to better their lives. Sure there is some that come to cause problems. For the ones that do come to work for a better live. why would you try to ruin it for them? They do the work americans are to LAZY to do. Americans rather sit in a office all day where they dont have to do hard labor. Where as, Illegal immigrants come for hard working labor. They work with farmers and construction and all those hard working jobs. Many americans born here and given the chance to do something successful would rather waste there lives. Immigrants arent always bad. They pay taxes just like you do. EXCEPT they dont get any benefits back. They give and thats it. They admire the VALUE OF A DOLLAR. Another thing, just because there is a lot of haspanic’s doesnt give you the right to be racist and say we dont need any more mexicans.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
–Emma Lazarus
This sonnet was engraved on the supporting pillar of the Statue of Liberty back in 1903. And it’s still there. That’s the kind of message we send out to the world, but so many things have kept this nation from being true to its word, whether it be out-sourcing, recession, government control, corruption, or just a simple flaw in human empathy.