Undocumented immigrants in Maine contribute $15.6 million in state and local taxes, according to a new study published Tuesday. But researchers said those contributions are held back by low wages and other challenges that come with employment restrictions.
In Maine, undocumented immigrants would contribute an additional $4.1 million a year in state and local taxes if they had access to legal employment, according to the report.
Co-author Marco Guzman said that’s in part because earnings tend to increase with work authorization.
“Immigrants with employment authorization earn higher wages than undocumented immigrants,” Guzman said. “So we assumed that they would then begin making even more money if they were granted some sort of work authorization or legal status.”
James Myall, with the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy, which was not involved in the study, said one way to help more immigrants access legal employment is for Congress to allow asylum seekers to get work permits more quickly.
“Making sure that those folks can start working as soon as possible, so that they have less need for public assistance, and are able to contribute sooner,” Myall said.
Nationally, the study finds undocumented immigrants paid close to $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
