Executive Action on Immigration Will Benefit Connecticut’s Economy

Everyone agrees that our immigration system is broken and needs reform. While only Congress has the power to fix the immigration system once and for all, until it acts, there are important steps the president can take that will start fixing our system while also increasing tax revenues, and strengthening our economy. Today, there are 110,000 undocumented immigrants living in Connecticut. Enabling even a portion of these immigrants to register with the government, request a reprieve from removal, and apply for a temporary work permit would increase Connecticut’s tax revenues by $31 million, over five years, and lead to a cascade of economic benefits.

Expanding deferred action will permit undocumented immigrants to work legally. Temporary work permits will provide these workers with the ability to secure jobs that match their skill set and enhance their productivity. As immigrants get on the books and work legally, their earnings will rise, and so too will their tax contributions. Executive action on immigration is a step toward fixing our broken system, and for Connecticut, it is a step toward a stronger fiscal and economic future.

Fiscal Benefits of Executive Action in Connecticut:

- There are 30,000 undocumented immigrants in Connecticut who are potentially eligible for deferred action under President Obama’s recent executive actions on immigration. If these immigrants are able to receive a temporary work permit, it would lead to a $31 million increase in tax revenues for Connecticut, over five years.

Economic Benefits of Executive Action:

- Expanding deferred action will significantly strengthen Connecticut’s economy. When undocumented immigrants can work legally, they are able to shield themselves against workplace exploitation and move freely across the labor market to find jobs just like anyone else. Combined, this leads to an 8.5% increase in their earnings. For the average undocumented immigrant that means they are taking home an additional $1,872 each year. As these extra earnings are spent throughout the economy, demand for goods and services rises, spurring job creation and raising the wages of all American workers.

About the Analysis: Tax benefits were calculated using the average annual income of undocumented immigrants, as estimated

by CAP; effective tax rates for Connecticut, as calculated by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy; and estimated wage increases due to receiving a temporary work permit. The calculated tax benefits reflect the extra revenue that results from some undocumented immigrants filing taxes for the first time, in addition to the taxes paid by all undocumented immigrants on their increased earnings. The analysis applied state-specific labor force and employment participation rates for undocumented immigrants as reported by the Migration Policy Institute. The analysis also accounts for the fact that an estimated 38% of undocumented immigrants are already paying income taxes, nationally. In 2010, 3.02 million undocumented immigrants filed income taxes using an Individual Tax Identification Number, nearly 38% of the 8.0 million undocumented workers. It is assumed that the same share of immigrants at the state level are currently filing taxes. The estimated number of undocumented immigrants includes parents of children (who are US citizen or have Legal Permanent Resident status), and those individuals covered under DACA expansion. The estimate isn’t confined to those parents who have been in the US for longer than 5 years.

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