On Tax Day, A Reminder That Immigration is Good for America

By Gabe Ortiz, America’s Voice 

Immigrants and their immense contributions make our nation stronger and more prosperous

Tax Day 2025 is almost here, meaning millions of workers across the country have either already filed their state and federal returns or are sitting down to finish them up. This includes millions of immigrants, whose immense annual contributions help sustain vital federal programs like Medicare and Social Security, fund our public schools, libraries, and fire departments, and boost our overall economy. Their vast contributions make our nation stronger, more vibrant, and more prosperous. This is true regardless of their legal immigration status.

Last year, research from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) revealed that undocumented workers contributed an astounding $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022 alone. “Most of that amount, $59.4 billion, was paid to the federal government while the remaining $37.3 billion was paid to state and local governments.” 

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The research further revealed that the contributions of undocumented workers have helped sustain Social Security – a literal lifeline for elderly Americans, disabled Americans, and American children who have lost one or both parents – and Medicare despite being ineligible for these programs themselves. 

“More than a third of the tax dollars paid by undocumented immigrants go toward payroll taxes dedicated to funding programs that these workers are barred from accessing,” ITEP said. “Undocumented immigrants paid $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes, $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes, and $1.8 billion in unemployment insurance taxes in 2022.” This has been true for years. In 2014, Stephen Goss, then-chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, said that undocumented workers paid about $100 billion into Social Security over the previous decade, helping keep the fund solvent for the elderly, disabled Americans, and children. 

“You could say legitimately that had we not received the contributions that we have had in the past from undocumented immigrants … that would of course diminish our ability to be paying benefits for as long as we now can,” he said in 2014.

And, unlike the richest Americans in the country, these immigrant workers contribute more than their fair share. ITEP’s research found that across 40 states, “undocumented immigrants pay higher state and local tax rates than the top 1 percent of households living within their borders.” You can see some state-by-state contributions from immigrants here.

When it comes to immigrant-led households overall, these families “paid $524.7 billion in total taxes in 2021, a slight increase since 2019,” Immigration Impact said in 2023. “This includes $346.3 billion in federal income taxes, and $178.4 billion in state and local taxes. These tax contributions made up 15.9% of total tax revenues governments received from U.S. residents in 2021, yet immigrants make up just 13.6% of U.S. households.” 

Immigration Impact said that a separate study “found that immigrants’ contributions to Medicare helped prolong the solvency of the program and subsidized its care for roughly 60 million American seniors and disabled individuals.” Related research from the Center for American Progress (CAP) found that DACA recipients contribute nearly $2.1 billion to Social Security and Medicare annually. “In addition, their employers contributed more than $1.6 billion in payroll taxes toward Social Security and Medicare on these DACA recipients’ behalf,” CAP said. 

Among these entrepreneurs is Christian Serrano, a Texas-based DACA recipient who started a home design and construction business as a way to support his family. Through hard work and sweat, he now has more than a dozen employees. Numerous studies have found that immigrants start businesses at higher rates than their U.S.-born counterparts. In Dallas, for example, immigrant entrepreneurs make up nearly 39% of business owners despite representing just over 23% of the population. “Like all immigrants, I learned the work ethic through my parents,” said Ken Tse, a Dallas business owner originally from China. “For them, it’s hope, it’s opportunity, it’s sacrifice after sacrifice.”

Meanwhile, harmful policies targeting immigrants are a kitchen table issue, impacting all working families by exacerbating labor shortages, raising food prices, and striking a blow to significant revenues going into local, state, and federal coffers.

Common sense action legalizing undocumented workers would reap massive gains for our country. Research from CAP found that a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants currently in the U.S. “would boost U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by a cumulative total of $1.7 trillion over ten years and create 438,800 new jobs,” as well as raise the annual wages for all U.S. workers by hundreds of dollars. On Tax Day, remember that immigration is good for American families, it’s good for our economy and businesses, and it’s key to our continued success

  Immigration