OKPOLICY.ORG
Immigration policies have taken center stage in public debates this year, but much of the conversation has been driven by emotion, not data. A new in-depth national study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy aims to help change that by quantifying how much undocumented immigrants pay in taxes – both nationally and in each state.
Here in Oklahoma, undocumented immigrants contributed $227.5 million in state and local taxes in 2022 — a number that would rise to $273.1 million if these taxpayers were granted work authorization, according to the study.
Other key findings:
- Nationally, undocumented immigrants contributed $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Of this, $37.3 billion went to state and local governments.
- For every 1 million undocumented immigrants who reside in the country, public services receive $8.9 billion in additional tax revenue. On the flip side, for every 1 million undocumented immigrants who are deported, public services stand to lose $8.9 billion in tax revenue.
- Nationally, providing access to work authorization to all current undocumented immigrants would increase their tax contributions by $40.2 billion per year, to $136.9 billion.
- Undocumented immigrants make significant contributions to America’s social insurance programs, yet they are barred from accessing the programs they pay into. Overall, undocumented immigrants in the United States paid $33.9 billion into social insurance programs, including Social Security and Medicare.
- Similarly, income tax payments by undocumented immigrants are affected by laws that require them to pay more than otherwise similarly situated U.S. citizens; as one example, they are often barred from receiving meaningful tax credits like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Tax Credit. However, many states have made their versions of these credits more immigrant-inclusive in recent years.
- In Oklahoma and 39 other states, undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local tax rates (8.9 percent) than the top 1 percent of Oklahoma households (6.4 percent). This clearly demonstrates that undocumented immigrants do in fact pay taxes and at a much higher rate than Oklahoma’s wealthiest residents.
“This study is the most comprehensive look at how much undocumented immigrants pay in taxes. And what it shows is that they pay quite a lot, to the tune of nearly $100 billion a year,” said Marco Guzman, ITEP Senior Policy Analyst and co-author of the study. “The bottom line here is that regardless of immigration status, we all contribute by paying our taxes.”
In Oklahoma, about 89,000 undocumented immigrants paid more than $227 million in state and local taxes during 2022. Of those tax contributions, $122 million (53.9 percent) were through sales and excise taxes, while $49 million (21.6 percent) were through property taxes, and $51 million (22.5 percent) were through personal or business income taxes.
“Immigrants strengthen our state’s workforce and are absolutely vital to Oklahoma’s economic well-being,” said Gabriela Ramirez-Perez, Immigration Policy Analyst for the Oklahoma Policy Institute. “As our state leaders continue discussions about policies that impact immigrants, we must start by recognizing how deeply immigrants are interconnected in our communities broadly. For decades, undocumented immigrants have made Oklahoma their home, raised families, paid taxes, worked essential jobs, cared for our loved ones, and made our communities stronger.”
While this study is the most comprehensive analysis of taxes paid by undocumented immigrants, it is worth noting that it does not attempt to quantify broader impacts that flow from the increased economic activity created by these individuals. Taking those economic ripple effects into account would likely reveal undocumented immigrants to have an even larger significance to public revenues than is documented here.
This study is another reminder that undocumented immigrants are contributing to our economies and our shared public services, and that immigration policy choices made in the years ahead will have significant consequences for public revenues.
