One of the biggest myths the anti-immigrant movement floats is that undocumented workers are just destroying the country by burdening its social services systems. It conjures notions of hospitals and other facilities overrun with foreigners demanding services - services they didn't pay for, because they aren't paying taxes.
This just isn't true, as yet another report has found. the release of a study by the UCLA's School of Public Health "that finds that illegal immigrants do not pose as significant a burden on U.S. Health Care resources as is often claimed."
The UCLA study echoes many similar recent findings. Last December, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn released similar findings in her report She takes care to note at the top of the report:
The absence of the 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our gross state product of $17.7 billion. Undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues, which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received.
As for taxes, not only do documented and undocumented workers pay significant taxes, but undocumented workers often get less for their money. A found "the estimated seven million or so illegal immigrant workers in the United States are now providing the [Social Security] system with a subsidy of as much as $7 billion a year" - money that's automatically taken out of the paychecks of undocumented workers who are not entitled to Social Security when they retire.
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Press ReleaseNov 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Immigrants' Rights Advocates Urge Congress To Pass Legislation To Protect Immigrants, As Trump Administration Ends Tps For Venezuelans. Explore Press Release.Immigrants' Rights Advocates Urge Congress to Pass Legislation to Protect Immigrants, as Trump Administration Ends TPS for Venezuelans
WASHINGTON – Immigrants' rights groups warn that the end of TPS for more than 240,000 Venezuelans today marks an escalation in the Trump administration’s attack on immigrant communities and one of the nation’s core humanitarian protections. The termination of this status is a critical moment for Congress to reaffirm its bipartisan commitment to protect people fleeing crisis and persecution by passing legislation that includes a pathway to citizenship for current and former TPS holders. This latest TPS termination for Venezuelans will leave hundreds of thousands vulnerable to detention and possible deportation to Venezuela, where many face imminent harm, persecution, or imprisonment, as well as third countries to which they have no connection. This termination will also have immediate and destabilizing effects on communities across the United States, where families who have long contributed to local economies, schools, and neighborhoods now face the prospect of losing their livelihoods and being torn from the communities they call home. Since President Trump took office, his administration has moved aggressively to dismantle TPS protections, terminating designations for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, and now Venezuela. Even with litigation pending to challenge these decisions, the administration’s actions have already placed more than 675,000 people at immediate risk of family separation, detention, and deportation. This pattern represents one of the most sweeping rollbacks of humanitarian protections in the program’s history. In response to the termination of TPS for Venezuelans, immigrants’ rights groups had the following reactions: “This moment represents far more than the loss of status for one group of people, it is an inflection point in the Trump administration’s broader effort to attack TPS and other humanitarian protections and put hundreds of thousands of our neighbors at risk of deportation and arrest by masked agents,” said Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the Ƶ. “American voters have shown that they deeply object to the administration’s reckless deportation agenda and now is a moment for members of Congress to rally behind them and show real courage. It’s critical that members of Congress mobilize and unite behind legislation that will protect TPS holders and provide a path to citizenship for millions of our neighbors and loves ones who have built lives in communities across the country.” “Today at midnight, 260,000 Venezuelans will lose their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), joining the 340,000 who already lost it before them. In total, more than 600,000 Venezuelans are being stripped of their legal protection — the largest illegalization of immigrants in U.S. history — turning law-abiding, tax-paying families into subjects of deportation,” said Adelys Ferro, Executive Director of the Venezuelan American Caucus. “This cruel decision by the Trump administration and supported by the U.S. Supreme Court is not about policy or law; it is about xenophobia, racism, and discrimination. For many, returning to Venezuela under the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro is simply not an option. Many TPS holders are political refugees, victims of persecution, and pillars of their communities: people who contribute every day to this country. Losing their status means losing stability and hope. This is a painful, devastating, and profoundly unjust act that betrays America’s values and humanity.” “Venezuelan migrants have become an integral part of our communities—they are our neighbors, co-workers, caregivers, and friends. They deserve to be recognized for their humanity and their many contributions to our society,” said Dulce Guzman, Executive Director of Alianza Americas. “Yet this administration seems intent on dismantling every humanitarian and legal pathway available for people seeking safety and opportunity. We cannot look away from the terror and separation that families are enduring, nor can we become numb to the cruel ending of programs designed to protect human life and dignity. Ongoing political repression, economic collapse, and widespread human rights violations continue to make Venezuela unsafe for return, warranting the extension of TPS and other protections.” “The Administration's decision to terminate TPS for Venezuela and other qualified countries is inconsistent with the original intent of Congress in establishing Temporary Protected Status (TPS),” said Nils Kinuani, Federal Policy Manager for African Communities Together (ACT). “Congress created this program specifically to protect vulnerable populations from unsafe or unstable conditions in their home countries. By moving forward with these terminations, the Administration undermines the very purpose of the program and forces individuals back into dangerous conditions. “The Trump administration’s termination of TPS for over 240,000 Venezuelans is part of a deliberate agenda to systematically dismantle protections for Black, Brown, and Middle Eastern communities,” said Carolyn Tran, Executive Director of Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP). “Since Trump took office, TPS protections have been stripped from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Burma, South Sudan, and Venezuela – placing more than 675,000 people at risk of deportation. This is not about policy. This is about a calculated effort to attack immigrants of color. At CUSP, we stand in unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan TPS community. When one of our communities is attacked, we are all under attack. The same forces threatening Venezuelan families are threatening Haitian, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Syrian, Burmese, Afghan, and Nepali families across the diaspora. Our power lies in our collective resistance and our refusal to be divided. Congress must act now to protect all TPS holders and provide a pathway to citizenship.” “Today, over 240,000 Venezuelans join the growing community of TPS holders in the US who have been delegalized by this administration, placing them at immediate risk of being separated from their families and deported back to their home country with no regard to their safety or well-being,” said George Escobar, Chief of Programs and Services at CASA. “TPS for so many has been an avenue to build a life here in the US, as they were able to work and provide for themselves and their families. The systemic dismantling of the program comes in tandem with the violent xenophobia and racism unleashed by this administration, as brown and black members of our community are targeted by enforcement agents to be removed from our neighborhoods and cities. We will not remain silent as immigrants across the country are in danger and will continue to fight to ensure that all members of our community can prosper.” -
News & CommentaryNov 2025
Immigrants' Rights
Border Patrol Agents Replace Top Leadership At Ice Offices Despite Human Rights Violations. Explore News & Commentary.Border Patrol Agents Replace Top Leadership at ICE Offices Despite Human Rights Violations
As immigration enforcement expands nationwide, the Trump administration is replacing nearly half of top leaders at ICE field offices across the country with Border Patrol, an agency long criticized for its culture of cruelty and lack of accountability.By: Sarah Mehta -
Press ReleaseNov 2025
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Appeals Court Refuses To Block Discriminatory Florida Housing Law That Targets Chinese Immigrants. Explore Press Release.Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Block Discriminatory Florida Housing Law That Targets Chinese Immigrants
MIAMI — The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today refused to preliminarily block SB 264, a discriminatory housing law in Florida. The law, which bans many immigrants from China and six other countries from purchasing homes in the state, will remain in effect while the case proceeds. The court concluded that none of the plaintiffs had “standing” to challenge SB 264’s restrictions on property purchases. Significantly, however, the court clarified that these restrictions do not apply to certain Chinese immigrants who reside in Florida and intend to remain there indefinitely. Under SB 264, people who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and whose “domicile” is in China, are prohibited from purchasing property in Florida. The sole exception is extremely narrow: Those with non-tourist visas or who have been granted asylum may purchase one residential property under two acres that is not within five miles of any “military installation.” A similar but less restrictive rule also applies to many immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria. “All people, regardless of where they come from, should be free to buy homes and build lives in Florida without fear of discrimination,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the Ƶ’s National Security Project. “Although today’s decision is disappointing, we’ll continue to fight laws like these that blatantly target immigrants based on their national origin and ethnicity.” This pernicious law mirrors repeated efforts over the past century to weaponize false claims of “national security” against Asians and other immigrants. In the early 20th century, politicians used similar justifications to pass “alien land laws,” which barred Chinese and Japanese immigrants from becoming landowners in states across the United States, including Florida. Throughout the country, there has been a resurgence of these alien land laws – further eroding the rights of immigrants under the guise of protecting national security. “SB 264 explicitly discriminates against Chinese immigrants, and it has broader chilling effects on Asian Americans in Florida who simply want to buy a home,” said Clay Zhu, president of CALDA. “We will continue to fight SB 264 and similar ‘alien land laws’ across the country.” “SB 264 is not just unconstitutional—it harkens back to discredited century-old alien land laws that told generations of Asian Americans that this country was not their home,” said Bethany Li, executive director of AALDEF. “But our communities survived those past assaults on our rights, and we remain. We will continue to fight back for the dignity and belonging we deserve.” Although the appeals court refused to preliminarily block the law, today’s decision makes clear that certain Chinese immigrants who live in Florida and intend to remain there indefinitely are “domiciled” in Florida and thus exempt from SB 264’s restrictions on property purchases. The Ƶ, Ƶ of Florida, DeHeng Law Offices PC, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance (CALDA), and the law firm Quinn Emanuel are representing Chinese immigrants who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as Multi-Choice Realty, a local real estate firm whose business has been harmed by the law.Court Case: Shen v. SimpsonAffiliate: Florida -
PodcastNov 2025
National Security
+2 Issues
Deployments At Our Doorstep. Explore Podcast.Deployments At Our Doorstep
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