New data: The economic contributions of undocumented immigrants

By EWIC

By New American Economy

We are releasing new research — using the latest available American Community Survey data from 2019 — that highlights the significant economic contributions undocumented immigrants make to the U.S. economy each year. As multiple bills move through Congress that would provide a path to citizenship to some share of the roughly 10.3 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., these new findings underscore the need to provide certainty to undocumented households, as well as American employers and communities.

Key Findings:

  • In 2019, there were more than 4.2 million immigrants from Mexico who lack documentation. Together, they make up more than 40.8 percent of the 10.3 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.
    • More than one half of all undocumented immigrants from Mexico live in just two states, California and Texas.
    • The vast majority (96.7%) of Mexican undocumented workers are working and contributing to the economy and are vital to critical American industries including agriculture (11.5% of the workforce), construction (6.7%), and the tourism and hospitality sector (3.4%).
    • Given their productivity and their numbers, Mexican undocumented immigrants are significant economic contributors to the American economy. In 2019 alone, they earned almost $92 billion in household income and contributed almost $9.8 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.
    • Mexican undocumented immigrants held more than $82.2 billion in spending power, money that often goes back into local economies as they spend on housing, consumer goods, and services.
  • Rounding out the top 5 countries of origin of undocumented immigrants are: El Salvador (621,000, or 6.0 percent of all undocumented immigrants), India (587,000, or 5.7 percent), Guatemala (5.4 percent, or 5.4 percent), and Honduras (416,000, or 4.0 percent).
    • Undocumented immigrants from these four countries hold billions of dollars in spending power: India ($15.5 billion), El Salvador ($11.5 billion), Guatemala ($9.1 billion), and Honduras ($6.4 billion).
    • They also make significant contributions to federal, state, and local tax revenue: India ($2.8 billion), El Salvador ($1.4 billion), Guatemala ($1.1 billion), and Honduras ($778 million).

Read the full post here: Examining the Economic Contributions of Undocumented Immigrants by Country of Origin.