Border 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

TESTIMONY
Providing Perspective on the Application of Immigration Law at the US Southwest Border

The reality at the U.S. southern border is complicated. Dive into the role and authority of the executive branch and immigration enforcement agencies. 

READ MORE

FACT SHEET
Rising Border Encounters in 2021: An Overview and Analysis

For generations, the United States has seen periodic cycles of migration. The arrival of high numbers of asylum seekers is a humanitarian protection management challenge, not a security challenge.

READ MORE

All Border Enforcement Content

  • Blog

New Report Depicts Ongoing Abuses by Border Patrol

September 28, 2015

Related Content: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse Deported migrants suffer a range of abuses at the hands of Custom and Border Patrol agents, according to a new Kino...

  • Press Release

Border Patrol Agents as Interpreters Along the Northern Border: Unwise Policy, Illegal Practice

September 25, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

United States Agrees to Settle Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Deportation

July 2, 2015

Washington D.C. - After more than two years of litigation, the U.S.

  • Fact Sheet

Way Too Long: Prolonged Detention in Border Patrol Holding Cells, Government Records Show

Publication Date: 
June 10, 2015

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

  • Litigation

Challenging Unconstitutional Conditions in CBP Detention Facilities

The class-action lawsuit complaint alleges that Tucson Sector Border Patrol holds men, women, and children in freezing, overcrowded, and filthy cells for days at a time in violation of the U.S. Constitution and CBP’s own policies.
  • Blog

Why Immigration Enforcement Effectiveness Should Be Measured

April 16, 2015

For decades, the United States has been pursuing an “enforcement-first” approach to immigration control, spending more on immigration enforcement than all other law enforcement combined, but...

  • Press Release

Immigrants’ Rights Groups to Provide Pro Bono Legal Services to Detained Families in Texas

March 31, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • FOIA Litigation

Class Action Lawsuit Challenging CBP Delays in Responding to FOIA Requests

In March 2015, the American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the Law Office of Stacy Tolchin, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, filed a class action lawsuit against CBP over its nationwide pattern and practice of failing to timely respond to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The plaintiffs included both immigration attorneys and individuals, all of whom had FOIA requests pending for over 20 business days.
  • Press Release

Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Failures of CBP to Respond to FOIA Requests

March 13, 2015
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, a class action lawsuit was filed by three immigration attorneys and eleven noncitizens challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) nationwide practice of failing to timely respond to requests for case information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA gives an individual the right to access information that the federal government possesses about him or her within 20 business days of making the request.
  • Special Report

No Action Taken: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse

Publication Date: 
May 4, 2014
Of the 809 complaints of alleged abuse lodged against Border Patrol agents between January 2009 and January 2012, 97 percent resulted in “No Action Taken.” On average, CBP took 122 days to arrive at...

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending