Undocumented Oregonians pay taxes. The millions in taxes they pay to help fund schools and other public services that strengthen Oregon’s economy.
Oregon would collect even more tax revenue under comprehensive immigration reform that would open a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Under such a scenario, these immigrant Oregonians and aspiring citizens would contribute so much more in state and local taxes that their tax payments as a share of their income would exceed the share paid by Oregon’s wealthiest 1 percent.
As the Trump Administration talks about a program of mass deportation – or, who knows, perhaps not? – the question of what contribution undocumented immigrants make to the New York economy is more important than ever. This new report finds that unauthorized immigrants are responsible for $40 billion, or three percent, of New York’s economic output, and make up five percent of the labor force. They also pay taxes—a total of $1.1 billion in state and local taxes in New York.
The report also has regional profiles of unauthorized immigrants in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and Northern and Western New York.
Potential harsher federal immigration policies under the new presidential administration pose special concern for young Georgians whose parents brought them to the United States as children. A new federal crackdown threatens havoc for tens of thousands of young Georgians who now enjoy some limited legal protections which allow them to work, go to school and avoid deportation. In doing so, it could cause headaches for Georgia employers and deprive the state’s economy of thousands of productive, upwardly mobile workers.
An estimated 47,000 Georgians, most of them in their late teen years or 20s, are now enrolled or immediately eligible for a federal program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Created in 2012, DACA allows some undocumented immigrants brought here as children to live and work in the U.S. without threat of deportation. If the new presidential administration eliminates DACA as promised, these 47,000 young Georgians stand to lose their ability to work or access higher education. Federal authorities could also choose to deport them to the countries of their birth, even if they lived the bulk of their life in the U.S.
Policies affecting access to driver’s licenses have changed in numerous ways over the years in
New York State, and around the country. Today, 12 states, plus the District of Columbia and
Puerto Rico, make it possible for immigrants to get driver’s licenses without regard to their
immigration status.
Until 2003, New York State allowed residents to apply for driver’s licenses without regard to
their immigration status. Proposals are now pending in the New York State legislature that would
allow all state residents to apply for a driver’s license, irrespective of their immigration status.
Currently, 37 percent of unauthorized immigrants live in a place where they can get a driver’s
license; if a bill passed in New York, that share would increase to 44 percent.