Economic Benefits of Executive Action in Maryland

 

 

Executive Action on Immigration Will Benefit Maryland’s Maryland’s Economy  Economy

Everyone agrees that our immigration system broken anditneeds reform. only steps Congress has the  power to fix the immigration immigratio n system once andisfor all, until aacts, cts, there areWhile important the p president resident can take that will start fixing our system while also increasing tax revenues, and a nd strengthening our economy. Today, there are  are 228,000 undocumented immigrants living in Maryland. Enabling even a  portion of these immigrants immigrants to register with the gov government, ernment, request a reprieve from remov removal, al, and apply for a temporary work permit would increase Maryland’s tax revenues by $114 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 these workers with the ability ability to secure jobs that match th their eir 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 Maryland, it is a step toward a stronger fiscal and economic future. Fiscal Benefits of Executive Action in Maryland:

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There are  are 60,000 undocumented immigrants in Maryland 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 $114 million increase in tax revenues  for Maryland, over five years.

Economic Benefits of Executive Action:

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Expanding deferred action will significantly strengthen Maryland’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 eelse. lse. Combined, this leads to an 8.5% increase in their earnings.  earnings. For the average undocumented immigrant that means they are taking home an additional $1,872 each year. As these extra earnings are spent througho throughout ut the economy, demand American workers.for goods and services rises, spurring job creation and raising the wages of all

About the Analysis: Tax benefits were calculated using the average annual income of undocumented immigrants, as estimated  by CAP; effective tax rates for Maryland, as calculated as calculated by  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 as reported by  by the Migration Policy Institute. The analysis also accounts for the fact that an estimated 38% of undocumented immigrants i mmigrants 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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