Lies About Illegal Immigration And Why They Are False

"Americans believe that undocumented immigrants are exploiting the United States' economy. The widespread belief is that illegal aliens cost more in government services than they contribute to the economy. This belief is undeniably false. Every empirical study of illegals' economic impact demonstrates the opposite...: undocumenteds actually contribute more to public coffers in taxes than they cost in social services. Moreover, undocumented immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy through their investments and consumption of goods and services; filling of millions of essential worker positions resulting in subsidiary job creation, increased productivity and lower costs of goods and services; and unrequited contributions to Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance programs." [7]

Lie #1: "Illegal Immigrants don't work."

"The number of undocumented workers peaked in 2007 at 12 million and then declined to a steady 11 million in the following years." [11] "...Approximately 8 million US jobs are dependent upon economic activity produced by illegal immigrant activities within the US." [1] [5] "According to the Pew Hispanic Center, there were nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. in 2008, with 8.3 million in the labor force." [3] "More than half of the estimated seven million immigrants toiling illegally in the United States get a regular paycheck every week or two, experts say." [10] "Nearly 12 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be living in the United States. The vast majority works in low-skill, low-wage jobs. More than half work in construction, manufacturing or leisure and hospitality." [4]

Lie #2: "Illegal Immigrants don't pay taxes."

"...according to the Immigration Policy Center, which estimates that households headed by illegal immigrants paid a combined $11.2 billion in state and local taxes during 2010. Based on estimates compiled by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), the Immigration Policy Center reported that the $11.2 billion in taxes paid by illegal immigrants in 2010 included $8.4 billion in sales taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes and $1.2 billion in state personal income taxes...A new study by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy shows that undocumented immigrants paid $8.4 billion in sales taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.2 billion in personal income taxes last year. The study also estimates that nearly half of all undocumented immigrants pay income taxes." [2] "ITEP estimates that households that are headed by undocumented immigrants (which may include members who are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants) paid $11.2 billion in state and local taxes last year. That included $1.2 billion in personal income taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes and $8.4 billion in sales taxes." [12] "$11.2 billion: Amount that UIs paid in taxes in 2010, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. About half of all illegals pay some form of federal taxes. An April study by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy found that undocumented immigrants paid $11.2 billion in taxes in 2010. It estimated that nearly half of all illegal immigrants pay income taxes." [9] "For 2005, the last year for which figures are available, about $9 billion in taxes was paid on about $75 billion in wages from people who filed W2 forms with incorrect or mismatched data, which would include illegal immigrants...In 2006, the IRS Commissioner Mark Everson told Congress that "many illegal aliens, utilizing ITINs, have been reporting tax liability to the tune of almost $50 billion from 1996 to 2003." [8] "Everson told Congress "many illegal aliens, utilizing ITINs, have been reporting tax liability to the tune of almost $50 billion from 1996 to 2003." [6]

1. “Real Earnings—June 2013”. U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tuesday July 16, 2013. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/realer.pdf 
2. American Immigration Council. “Unauthorized Immigrants Pay Taxes, Too”. Immigration Policy Center. Monday April 18, 2011. http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/unauthorized-immigrants-pay-taxes-too 
3. Cohn, D’Vera and Passel, Jeffrey. “A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States”. Pew Hispanic Center. April 14, 2009. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/107.pdf 
4. Davidson, Adam. “Illegal Immigrants and the U.S. Economy”. National Public Radio. March 30, 2006. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5312900 
5. Hinojosa, Raul. “Labor Market Impacts of Amnesty: A Comparative Analysis of IRCA and Current Conditions”. University of California-Los Angeles North American Integration and Development Center. Spring 2000. http://www.naid.ucla.edu/uploads/4/2/1/9/4219226/b46.pdf 
6. Kasperkevic, Jana. "Illegal Immigrant: We Do Pay Taxes, And The Government Knows Exactly Who We Are". Business Insider. March 16, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-illegal-immigrants-pay-taxes-2012-3 
7. Lipman, Francine. "Taxing Undocumented Immigrants: Separate, Unequal and Without Representation". Tax Lawyer. Spring 2006. http://immigration.procon.org/view.source.php?sourceID=003141 
8. Loller, Travis. “Many illegal immigrants pay up at tax time”. The Associated Press. November 4, 2008. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2008-04-10-immigrantstaxes_N.htm 
9. Mackey, Maureen. “21 Surprising Facts About Illegal Immigration”. The Fiscal Times. January 28, 2013. http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/01/28/21-Surprising-Facts-About-Illegal-Immigration.aspx#page1 
10. Porter, Eduardo. “Here Illegally, Working Hard and Paying Taxes. The New York Times. June 19, 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/business/19illegals.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 
11. Resnick, Brian. "There Are 11 Million Undocumented Immigrants. So Who Are They? The population is more than just a number. Here's what we know about them". National Journal. May 30, 2013. http://www.nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/there-are-11-million-undocumented-immigrants-so-who-are-they-20130128 
12. Ruiz, Albor. “Study estimates that illegal immigrants paid $11.2B in taxes last year, unlike GE, which paid zero”. New York Daily News. Wednesday April 20, 2011. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/study-estimates-illegal-immigrants-paid-11-2b-taxes-year-ge-paid-zero-article-1.113569