This morning, for Tax Day, our members along with dozens of immigrant New Yorkers rallied in front of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) office in Manhattan to highlight the billions in taxes paid by immigrant families and demand a pathway to citizenship.
Undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes each year, including property, sales, and income taxes, yet continue to be excluded from state benefits and a permanent status in the United States.
Every year, undocumented immigrants and their households pay approximately $79.7 billion in federal taxes and $41 billion in state and local taxes. However, in times of need, our most vulnerable communities are left to fend for themselves, without the state support they deserve, and excluded from a pathway to citizenship.
As our member Dolores Juarez shared: “We are here today gathering in front of this IRS office with our tax records in hand, to demand this government to recognize the worth of our labor and once for all grant us immigration reform because we deserve it.”
In this year’s state budget, Governor Hochul left immigrant New Yorkers behind, refusing to include a single cent for the Excluded Workers Fund and leaving undocumented families out of childcare. Instead, Governor Hochul chose to fund her donors and subsidize a multi-billionaire to build a football stadium.
We now urge Congress and the Biden administration to deliver on their promises to our communities and recognize the worth of immigrants’ labor.
We demand an end to exclusion from long-awaited immigration relief.