Paying taxes: a priority for undocumented worker
D.C. mechanic hopes for citizenship by following the law.
Every tax day like millions of U.S. citizens, Julio Garcia files his taxes. The Northwest D.C. car mechanic does this though he knows there is no chance of reaping future benefits because he is undocumented.
Julio Garcia, an undocumented worker in the District. Photo: Kerry Hentrich
“I file my taxes every year. I have been in this country for eight years. Not everybody can say that,” Garcia says.
Garcia is one of 6 million undocumented immigrants who contribute billions of dollars in federal taxes each year, according to the IRS. In addition, they pay income and payroll taxes without access to Social Security and Medicare. Though they also aren’t eligible for benefits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, they are determined to follow the law.
“I pay taxes just like everybody else does. I don’t lie or cheat or steal or do things illegally here. The United States has been good to me. I came here for a better life. I didn’t cross the border just to be taken back,” says Garcia, who is from Guatemala.
There’s a reason why undocumented workers file taxes. It helps immigrants create a paper trail to show when they entered the country and how long they’ve been contributing to the country financially. Many are hoping it will help them get legal status one day. That has happened in past reform efforts, and one of the first requirements is usually to prove that a person has been paying taxes.
There are two ways undocumented immigrants pay taxes. They either pay federal taxes using fake Social Security numbers on their W-2 forms or file income tax returns each year with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This was created by the IRS in 1996 so people who aren’t allowed to work in the United States could still file taxes on any income they earned.
For Garcia, who fled poverty and crime in his birthplace, the road to citizenship remains the light at the end of the fiscal tunnel.
“My dream is to be a citizen one day. And this is one way to do that,” he said.
