GOP Bill Imposes Harsher Taxes on Immigrants, Adds $2.8 Trillion to National Debt

The GOP’s $4.5 trillion spending bill introduces a parallel tax system that imposes harsher tax measures on immigrants and their relatives, both documented and undocumented. This legislation, championed by Donald Trump, allocates hundreds of billions of dollars to fund deportation efforts and creates a dual-class tax structure. One set of tax rules applies to citizens and their families, while another set applies to families with at least one immigrant member.

Critics argue that this bill creates a "parallel system of rights and opportunities that relegate millions of people to second-class status in our society." The legislation increases fees for immigration paperwork, raises taxes on U.S. citizens with immigrant relatives, and imposes taxes on remittances sent from the U.S. to other countries. For instance, the Child Tax Credit, which allows families to receive up to $2,000 per child off their tax bill, now requires one or both parents to have a Social Security number to claim the credit. This change excludes 4.5 million U.S. citizen children from the credit because a parent does not have a Social Security number.

The bill also imposes various fees on immigrants seeking legal protections. Migrants seeking asylum status will need to pay $100 per year to apply, those seeking work authorization must pay $550, and those on temporary protected status, $500. Fees for temporary visitors, student visas, and certain worker visas also increase. The tax on remittances, projected to raise $10 billion over a decade, will affect both immigrants and citizens. The immigrant-focused tax increases are aimed at funding the immigration system, which receives a $130 billion boost spread among Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the parent Homeland Security Department.

This legislation is not the first instance of taxes being used to punish immigrants. The bill doubles down on the administration’s goal of penalizing immigrants through the tax system. The Internal Revenue Service has been turned into an aid for immigration enforcement, sharing formerly private data with the Department of Homeland Security. The GOP’s bill further exacerbates the use of the IRS as an enforcement tool, raising concerns about the future direction of federal tax policy and whether it will be used more frequently to punish politically disfavored groups.

The GOP’s bill is projected to add $2.8 trillion to the national debt over a decade. However, the long-term economic damage caused by penalizing and likely discouraging immigration is unknown. Immigrants complement and amplify the economic contributions of those already living in the United States, increasing America’s share of economic output in the world. This bill harms millions of American citizens who have immigrants in their families and harms everyone else because immigrants have contributed to raising Americans’ living standards.