tax-law immigration
How can the the USA legally ask illegal immigrants to pay taxes while denying them any legal basis of citizenship?
<p>According to a report released by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_illegal_immigrants_in_the_United_States#cite_note-20" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy</a> in February 2016, they state that:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>11 million illegal immigrants in the United States are paying annually an estimated amount of $11.64 billion in state and local taxes, on average an estimated 8 percent of their incomes. </p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Q. What is the legal basis of asking illegal immigrants in the USA to pay 'state and local taxes while denying them <em>any</em> basis for citizenship?</strong></p>

<p><strong>Q. And underlying that, the ethical and moral justification?</strong></p>

<p>Paying taxes need not have any legal connection to citizenship or potential citizenship. There is no constitutional provision, or law, which limits taxation to citizens or those on a path to citizenship. Legal immigrants, those on visas, and indeed tourists, must all pay various taxes, including hotel taxes and sales taxes. Lawful immigrants who work in the US must pay federal and (in most states) state income tax, and I believe some undocumented immigrants pay Federal income tax as well. </p>

<p>Many countries tax people who are not citizens, nor immigrants in line for citizenship, and this has been true far back in history. Indeed the Romans taxed pretty much every inhabitant of and visitor to the Roman Empire, most of whom were not Roman Citizens. Things haven't changed that much since.</p>

<p>It might be argued on philosophical grounds that such people should not be required to pay taxes, or should not be required to pay certain specific taxes. But that is not the law at this time, and this forum is not for debating what the law <strong>should</strong> be. </p>

<p>Taxes are not a charge for citizenship; they are a charge for services.</p>

<p>Documented or not, immigrants continue to enjoy the vast majority of services that are funded by the taxes they pay. They continue to have access to roads, courts, schools, clean water, sewers, police protection, and so on. Beyond that, they also enjoy the benefits that are facilitated by those tax-funded services, including employment, safety, economic stability, etc.</p>

<p>My initial answer here stated that illegal/undocumented immigrants are not actually <em>asked</em> to pay direct taxes (e.g. income tax) — some of them <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/4/13/17229018/undocumented-immigrants-pay-taxes" rel="nofollow noreferrer">do so voluntarily</a> in the hope that it will help them to get legalized later:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Filing taxes helps immigrants create a paper trail to show when they
  entered the country and how long they’ve been contributing tax
  dollars. 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.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Does the USA ask illegal migrants to pay income tax?</p>

<p>Illegal immigrants technically satisfy the tax law definition of "resident alien" as they pass the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc851#938" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Substantial Presence Test</a> (not to be confused with other legal definitions of "resident alien" found for example <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/141.10" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>).</p>

<p>At the same time, it is illegal for undocumented immigrants to work. Income obtained by undertaking illegal activity is illegally obtained (even though the work itself can be no wrong, doing it without visa/permit is illegal). Does the USA require to pay income tax on illegally obtained income? As per <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_v._United_States_(1961)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">James v. United_States (1961)</a> — yes, it does.</p>

<p>Therefore, the USA indeed <em>asks</em> illegal immigrants to pay income tax, while still denying them a path to citizenship. This is probably just as much ethically and morally justified as seeing it okay to tax illegal income.</p>
