Florida's immigrants pay billions in taxes, new report finds
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Florida's five million immigrants paid around $50 billion in taxes in 2023, per a recent analysis, with undocumented immigrants paying nearly $6 billion of that total.
Why it matters: The numbers reveal how immigrants, both documented and otherwise, contribute to the state and nation's economy, even while the Trump administration looks to ramp up deportation efforts.
Zoom in: The industries in Florida with the largest share of immigrant workers are agriculture (48.2%) and construction (37.8%), according to a new report from the nonprofit American Immigration Council.
- The leading occupations for immigrants in 2023 included manicurists, maids, housekeepers and roofers.
- Undocumented immigrants paid over $2 billion in state and local taxes and had a total spending power of about $22 billion.
Between the lines: Many undocumented immigrants pay federal, state and local taxes, even though they are not eligible for many government benefits.
Driving the news: Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Legislature enacted the state's harshest immigration crackdown yet in February, and while the laws left businesses untouched, lawmakers have filed bills to change that.
- State Sen. Randy Fine (R-Melbourne Beach) filed legislation to bar undocumented students from some state universities.
- State Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Miami) filed a bill to expand E-Verify to all employers, with penalties of up to $10,000 in fines. State Rep. Berny Jacques (R-Seminole) filed a similar bill without penalties.
What they're saying: "Immigrants have paid up the hard-earned tax dollars that are now going to be used to punish all Americans through a wasteful and cruel mass deportation plan," Nan Wu, director of research at the American Immigration Council, said in the group's report.
What's next: President Trump recently asked Congress to better fund his deportation and border security goals, which will be nearly impossible to achieve without more money, as Axios' Brittany Gibson and Russell Contreras report.