A Guest Post by Lark Pinney
Everyone in Wisconsin, regardless of where they were born, deserves to be able to work and pay taxes without fear of repercussions. Yet in April, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced it will share migrants’ data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The IRS’ sudden compliance represents a dramatic shift in how tax data has been previously managed for decades, regardless of the party in power. This unprecedented change, announced just before taxes were due, raises concerns over privacy and data protections for immigrants and non-immigrants alike. Immigrant families especially, who already face significant obstacles to safely work and live, should not be punished for fulfilling their civic duty of paying taxes. Here’s what this means for immigrant families and why this matters to all Wisconsin residents.
Immigrants Pay Taxes Too
Immigrants play a vital role in advancing Wisconsin’s society and growing the economy, workforce, and tax base. In fact, in 2022, undocumented immigrants paid more than $96 billion in federal, state, and local taxes nationwide. In Wisconsin, undocumented immigrants pay $198.9 million dollars in state and local taxes. Across the nation, immigrants – regardless of their status – paid nearly $600 billion in taxes in 2023. Their taxes fund vital programs such as public education, Social Security, Medicaid/BadgerCare, and SNAP/FoodShare, which provide essential health care and food assistance to millions of Wisconsinites. Undocumented immigrants cannot even access most of these services, and yet their tax dollars help make it possible for Wisconsinites to enjoy these benefits. The false belief that immigrants don’t pay taxes, which has been perpetuated by the current administration, is both untrue and harmful. It stirs up mistrust of immigrants and creates a false narrative that immigrants don’t contribute to our economy or communities.
The exact information that ICE is asking the IRS to share remains unclear, but the information could include addresses or taxpayer identification numbers, which undocumented immigrants use to submit tax returns (Duehren). The fear that information provided on tax filings could be shared with ICE may be a deterrent for migrants, both documented and not, to file taxes in the future. Out of the very real fear of deportation, this could discourage migrant workers from accepting or keeping jobs where taxes are withheld, which could lead to $313 billion in tax revenue losses over the next 10 years. The result would be less revenue to support Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other critical services. Ultimately, everyone benefits from everyone being able to safely pay and file taxes.
By broadly sharing IRS taxpayer data with ICE, the current administration is breaking its trust with the immigrant community, while seeking to penalize immigrants for “doing the right thing:” paying taxes and giving back to their communities. This action from the IRS violates the privacy of all taxpayers, and creates fear and uncertainty among undocumented communities and for their futures. Families deeply fear family separation and deportation, and yet many still continue to pay taxes that fund services for which they are ineligible.
What can you do?
Federal policy regarding immigrants is rapidly changing under the new administration, so advocating for our neighbors is more important than ever. There are always opportunities to speak to your state and federal legislators, and share that this policy change is a step in the wrong direction and will have significant negative consequences on our communities.
Talk to decision makers and local leaders in your communities about how we in Wisconsin can protect our immigrant families and work together to build a safe, thriving state.
